EQUILIBRIUM: Crescent of Light
by Eyes of Eden
Summary: When the men are tortured, the women raped, and the children slaughtered, how is hope to linger in the hearts of the good? This eclipse of despair leaves a crescent of light shining upon the broken, and one chance to escape the eternal darkness. Inu/Kag,
1. PREFACE

PREFACE

If you could solve all the mysteries in this world, what would you see? Would you see great fields, filled with all those imaginary creatures in those stories you were told as a child? The world holds secrets from even the wisest of us. And yet some still try to understand.

How are we to know what is myth and what is fact? Can we truly differentiate fairy-tales from non-fiction? How do we determine what legends are true and which are false?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that we are simply not supposed to know. Long ago, forces of which we could only dream to comprehend set laws to insure the secrets of the world were kept silent, shrouded in the mist we call uncertainty. But as we all know, laws were made to be broken, and now secrets must be told…

Take heed children, for dark times lie ahead of us. Earth stands upon the brink of destruction; I can see the darkness start to take control, suffocating all life, blinding us with hatred and despair.

But the Heavens shall not abandon us. All is not yet lost, for there is still good in this world. To those who follow the Lunar Howl, I give you hope.

Join us in this journey, in the ultimate battle between good and evil. Some will be chosen others will chose, but we all have our part to play in this complicated thing we call a life.

This is their story…

* * *

_**A.N.**_

_I need to make one thing clear before I begin this story... _

_This started out as an original story, but I decided to change the details around a bit to portray the InuYasha cast rather than my own original cast. This means that things like weapons, appearances, heritage, religon, and personality might be a little bit different. The difference is minimal but it affects it enough to separate it from any other typical IY fic._

_It's not really that big of a deal though. Just picture a characters face with maybe different hair or something. _

_Eventually I'd like to publish this story in its original form so keep in mind that I'm basically writing two stories at once. So my updates may be a little inconsistent._

_Having said that I hope this doesn't put you guys off and I hope you enjoy my story! :)_

_**Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi claims full rights to the Anime/Manga, InuYasha. **_

_**Eye's of Eden**_


	2. PROLOGUE

**PROLOGUE**

_10 years ago… _

_**Blood**_... it was everywhere. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Its stench hung in the air, so putrid you just couldn't ignore it, like a pesky mosquito, it just wouldn't leave you alone!

He could hear the familiar sounds of battle. The clashing iron of swords and axes echoed through the forest as his chest heaved with ragged breaths. He hated the fact that he had ran away but their safety had come first. The one's he loved had placed their lives in his hands.

He nearly laughed at himself. Lives… so many had been lost that night. Never before had life seemed so fragile. He never pondered before, how easy it could be taken away. He had paid for his ignorance, and so had they.

_What happened?_ he thought. _Where did I go wrong? Was it supposed to be this way? Did I truly deserve this?_

He had had dreams; he was supposed to be a warrior, a role model. He was supposed to be that hero in bedtime stories that were told to children. All that had been taken away by the white clad figure in front of him. The figure at a bow drawn, its string taut, with an arrow notched onto it. He watched the silver arrow-head, waiting for death. He clenched his sharp teeth and growled furiously.

_It wasn't supposed to be this way! _

He was so sick of all the sadness, of all the suffering and he just wanted it to end. The emotional sickness, the physical pain of the stray arrow embedded shallowly in his chest (He didn't bother to pull it out, he'd be dead soon anyways) caused such agony, that for the first time in his life he had been forced to his knees. He glared at the white clad figure who had taken everything away from him.

Fleetingly, he remembered bright smiles and loud laughter. Hell, his clothes still smelled of the sweet chicken he had had earlier that evening. For some strange reason he didn't remember any of the big moments of his life, he could only recall the small things.

He didn't think about his graduation from the academy, he didn't think about his record breaking moments in the Arena.

A simple caress, a fleeting look, a sudden smile, the kind of things that you asked people why they did them and they would just smile and reply, "Just because" He had taken it all for granted.

_Father_, _sister, please forgive me. I failed._

How ironic that he should die that day. The day when he could finally fight legally, when he would have began his training for the rank of the elite warriors.

His sharp eyes registered the hands of the white assassin tensing. He only had moments of life left.

He tried to stare into his killers eyes, but he couldn't tell for sure, for its hood was pulled low, covering its face effectively.

The moments seemed to suddenly slow down as the figure released the arrow, he stared death straight in the eyes, its eyes taking form of a silver arrowhead glinting menacingly, flying, and promising the empty nothingness of death…

_**Death…**_


	3. Graduation Day

_**Chapter**_ _**One**_

**GRADUATION DAY**

**Warning:**

_Slight religious ordeals_

* * *

**_Kagome awoke with a startled gasp._** Pale lids flew open to reveal deep blue eyes as she realized where she was and what she had been doing. Her face flushed as the pressure of her peer's eyes sprung her into hasty action. She quickly sat up straighter in her plastic seat and tried to compose her young features into an attentive visage, mentally berating herself for falling asleep.

"Wow Kagome," snickered a teasing voice behind her, "I don't think I've _ever_ seen you sleep when you were on campus! Did you fall asleep at your college graduation too?"

She ignored her friend, Heather, who's teasing was nothing new to her. She concentrated, instead, on the fat, bald spokesman on the outdoor stage, dressed in a ridiculously miss-matched outfit, who was struggling to keep his audience's interest, failing miserably. About half a dozen napkins littered the ground around the man's feet, a result of his frequent sweating.

_C'mon girl, pay attention! It's not much longer, just hang in there for a few more minutes. _

She chanted this like a mantra inside of her head, determined to salvage some respect that she had probably lost during her little nap.

_You're fighting a losing battle, sweetheart_, came the unwelcome voice of reason.

The anger in her eyes intensified, her irritation more angled towards the fact that she couldn't control her attention span, rather than actually missing the speech. The implications of this only served to irritate her more and she had to resist the urge to stomp on her own feet.

And still the dream lurked, almost hauntingly, in the back of her mind and she tried to push away those thoughts. What was the point, she frequently asked herself. The only recollections she had of them were momentary flashes of lights and brief bursts of sounds that compiled into a huge jumbled mess of useless memories that had no semblance of order and made absolutely no sense.

Then again, why did she even care? They were just stupid dreams, right?

Kagome blinked and nearly kicked herself as she realized that another section of the elaborate speech had just bypassed her attention and she once again scrambled her brain, in a vain attempt to pay attention.

She sighed wearily; it had always been like this, fighting to pay attention, failing in her almost foolish attempts more often than not.

Stray laughter caught her ears and she looked in the direction of the distracting sound to see a few kids playing catch. The spokesman's words seemed to muffle as she watched the children dive and jump for the small white ball that proved to be quite elusive for a few of them. As the ball sailed through the air, the speech now nothing more than unpleasant background noise, she saw the small white ball change. The whitish blur slimmed and darkened slightly and she saw in her mind's eye an arrow fly through the air.

Her eyes widened as recognition struck her conscious and a bit of the dream came back to her. A new series of flashing colors registered in her brain as she found herself digging through her mind before she could even try to stop herself, scrambling to try and fit together the random flashes and sounds into an order that made some form of sense.

Several moments of memory probing proved to be futile and she huffed in frustration. This stupid dream used to absolutely terrify her when she was a little girl. But not anymore, now it was just annoying. Maybe if she could remember it once, just once, she might be able to exorcise its recurring presence in her mind for good.

Mercifully the dreams never happened every night; it was always off and on. Sometimes she would have them for many days in a row, other times she went without them for almost a whole month. But they always came back, and of all the times of it to do so, it just _had_ to be on one of the most important days of her life.

So many times she had found herself studying at her desk all night, trying to make up for all the things she had missed in that day's lesson, only to go to class the next morning and not being able to concentrate on one single thing the professor said, which made the process repeat over and over again.

When she looked around in the classroom she saw honest, hardworking people who wanted to work for a prominent animal clinic and make their living as well known veterinarians. Though Kagome tried to convince herself otherwise, and she'd never admit it to anyone, not even to herself, she'd be lying if she said that she felt the same as everyone else here.

This was why she had refused the award of Valedictorian; she couldn't have taken an award she thought that she didn't deserve. It would have gone against everything she stood for.

She sat up a little straighter in her seat, glaring attentively at the speaker as he wiped his sweat soaked brow with his eighth napkin as though it was his fault she couldn't pay attention. She listened intently, treating every word as if it were her lifeline.

"... Standing before you, ladies and gentlemen, are not mere students. They are disciples of the noble art of healing some of God's creations. They seek not riches or fame, only to make the world a better place for everyone to live. Why, just the other day..."

The words were inspiring enough but he might as well have been reading her the water bill, the way he droned on and on and on. Who could blame her for falling asleep?

She scowled again. She couldn't think like that. Such thoughts were mere excuses, and excuses never boded well for people seeking perfection. Ever since she had started this she had sworn to show nothing _but _perfection.

From the moment she had entered Carrolton University she had been dubbed with the "model student" label.

Oh sure, she was pretty enough, with thick, slightly wavy, dark brown hair that travelled down to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Peach skin accentuated deep blue eyes, a small button nose, and full lips, forming a rather innocent face. A petite, curvy body attached to shapely legs, lifting her to a meager height of five and a half feet. Though Kagome wasn't flashy or haughty about her physical attributes, no one could say that she wasn't beautiful, and Kagome would have been a fool to not notice how many heads she turned everywhere she went.

But to her, all of that dimmed in comparison to the things that would appear on her resume, the things that truly mattered. At least that was what she tried to tell herself every single day.

Her resume showed her desired perfection with the boldness of white text on black paper. Straight A's nearly all her life, participating in a fair amount of clubs, and long hours spent at the humane society for charity painted a picture that drew in universities like moth to a flame. Her exceptional work helped her get into the most prestigious veterinarian school in the state, and perhaps the entire country. People who knew her for her reputation labeled her as the type that had been obsessed with her grades since she had known what the word meant. People who knew her well knew better. They knew about Oliver. They knew about her father.

Allowing herself to once again drift away from the droning voice she took a pleasant stroll down memory lane.

If her life were a fairytale, it would have started out something like: Once upon a time, there was a girl named Kagome who never knew her father.

Kagome had interrogated her mother about her father for as long as she could remember. She had grown somewhat of an obsession in her early childhood, so obsessed that it got to the point where it was unhealthy. She wanted to know everything about him, how he talked, what he looked like, how he smelled, not one bit of information was spared its removal of the offending veil that she called the unknown.

She remembered when she was six years old she used to use the information she had gained from her frequent interrogations to carry on imaginary conversations with him. She would carry on conversations with him for hours and eventually she had taken them out of her room. She started asking his opinion about things and people, what he wanted to eat or to do. She started to believe he was truly there.

At first, her mother had thought it was cute - she had an imaginary friend! - But when she had discovered the name of her new found companion she had put an immediate end to it. _"He's dead, Kagome!"_ she had said, _"And you had better learn to deal with it, because there's nothing you can do to change it!" _Kagome had cried a lot that day.

Since then she had grown up. She never again had another imaginary accomplice. However, her frequent interrogations about him never ceased.

Then one day, a spokesman had come into her seventh grade class to talk about their future careers. Most kids in her class had no idea what they wanted to be when they grew up. And the spokesman had only smiled and said it was natural that a child their age didn't have their future planned now, and that it was natural not to plan for it the next day. To Kagome, it was just another reassurance that she wasn't completely normal.

It was that day she began to plan her future step for step... because she knew exactly what she wanted to be.

She would never forget the day she had asked what her father had done for a living. She was ten years old. The reason for asking it was long lost, but her mother's reaction to it would be engraved in her memory for as long as she would have the power to recall it.

When she had asked it, her mother looked strangely alarmed. Then, she remembered, that a slight smile played at the corners of her lips, a lonely tear running down her cheek. She had turned to her slowly; eyes alit with unshed tears and a radiant smile on her face as she told her that he had worked as an animal doctor.

Kagome never learned why that particular question brought on such behavior, reactions like that weren't familiar and she wasn't sure how to handle it, but she made sure to limit her questions about him since then, fearing another emotional onslaught.

Following the spokesman's advice on current preparation, she had immediately asked to visit an animal hospital the next weekend. Her mother convinced her to settle, instead, for a trip to the local zoo, which proved to be the weirdest day of her life.

She had been fascinated by the screeching primates in their house-like cages, the dark lights of the cool reptile room, and no one could have wiped her smile from her face on that extensive safari ride. But _nothing _caught her interest more than the aviaries.

Passing the chamber that held all of the birds - including those big ones, like swans and eagles - she was intrigued by a cardinal that stared at her with an odd curiosity from inside the glass, as if it were spying on her. The winged creature seemed to call to her, there was something that told her that she loved that cardinal, along with every other bird that resided in that tall, glass replica of the wilderness.

She had spent hours in that cage, all the while the birds showing an uncanny interest in her. A lot of the smaller ones even sat on her finger like they did in those fairytale cartoons you see as a child. The big ones tended to keep their distance, but they came closer to her than anyone else, all of them looking at her with the same look that cardinal gave her. Even today she could whistle to them and they would come to her. She didn't do it often; she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to herself. But sometimes when she was feeling a bit lonely - like when she started to think about the father she never knew - she would wander out to the gardens at her mother's house, or to the balcony of her apartment, and call to them and they would come. They would sing to her the most beautiful melodies; tunes that people nowadays seemed have forgotten to appreciate.

Kagome knew that what she had felt during that trip was real; it wasn't just some weird coincidence, because from that evening she couldn't eat the chicken that was served to her as dinner. Even today things like eggs, turkey, duck, and anything that came from any kind of bird was permanently off the menu for her.

It was the trip that had reinforced her decision of her career path. Too many times she had seen people act selfishly, blinded by instinctual greed and lust for attention. All the while, creatures around them acted altruistically. Birds would gather sticks and moss for nests that would cradle an expectant batch of hatchlings while destructive children would demolish their masterpiece. It fascinated her, called to her, and she truly couldn't see herself doing anything else.

She sighed. Maybe a zoologist would have been a better option.

But here she was sitting in this very seat, graduating at the age of twenty-five, a year early of most Carrolton graduates, awaiting the rewards of all her hard work.

"... and now to our valedictorian, we present the reward of all her hard work. Ladies and gentlemen please give a round of applause for, Kagome Higurashi."

It was funny that her mind had drifted so far away from the speech, letting an extensive amount of words slip by her conscious mind, only to be brought out of her daydream by this one sentence. While she had refused the award of Valedictorian or sitting in the front row, the school had remained firm in their insistence that she receive her diploma first and Kagome had grudgingly accepted the deal. She remembered the arrangement and gulped. This was it, the moment she had waited for all of her life. Although, she couldn't say she had enjoyed the process much, she couldn't deny that the destination had intrigued her for a long time.

Slowly she made her way up to the stage, and with a shaky hand she accepted the rolled up certificate, the reward of ten years hard work. She shook hands with the chairman, Mr. Glade, who whispered in something in her ear that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

"Well done Kagome," he said. "I'm sure you will go on to do great things."

Kagome smiled brightly and thanked him. She walked off the stage, towards the deafening cheers of the audience and she caught the eye of her proud mother, wiping a stray tear from her face. Sitting next to her was her grandpa who looked bewildered at the loud noises. She suspected he had been sleeping throughout the whole ceremony, and somehow that eased her guilt a little. Slowly taking her seat once again, she placed her diploma on her blue clad lap.

She looked around as people started to get up one by one, accepting their proof of four to five years of hard work. She looked down at her own diploma, unfurling it hurriedly and frowned.

The paper was ordinary as far as she could see. In big, bold print she could see her name at the top and she found herself in the uninvited feeling of doubt. Was this it? Four years of hard work attributed to this? A piece of paper with her name on it was the 'reward of all her hard work?'

She suddenly grew angry at herself. The anger surprised her, but at the same time she accepted into her sudden, unexplainable, rage of hormones. But it dissipated immediately as she was faced with her teary eyed mother.

She blinked as she realized that the ceremony was over.

Her mother dropped her hand bag as though it meant nothing to her and embraced her daughter with a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you, honey!" Her voice slightly trembled as she rocked them from side to side.

She hugged her mother back as she caught a glimpse of her grandfather's disapproving look at all the unwelcome noise coming from the celebrating graduates as he sat waiting for them on the spectator's bench.

She pulled back and took her mother's hands in her own. They were near mirror images of each other, and for a woman approaching her fifties she looked pretty good. Shoulder length hair, exactly the same shade as her own, contrasted nicely with the formfitting red blouse she wore. She had the same shaped face, and the same button nose as Kagome, the only differences being the eyes, which were a chocolate brown.

"Mom, you should see yourself, do you realize how hard you're crying? I mean, it's only graduation!

"_Only graduation_?!" her mother exclaimed passionately. "Who are you, and what have you done with Kagome?"

Her response was cutoff. "EVERYONE, GET READY TO THROW THE CAPS!" someone shouted through a megaphone.

Her mother wrenched herself from her daughter's hands and dove for the handbag she had discarded for, what Kagome knew was, her digital camera. She rolled her eyes as she reached for the brim of her blue cap, her mother was a little overzealous about her scrapbooking. The resounding boom of the whole graduating class' voices rumbled through the air as everyone removed their caps.

"_ONE_!"

An imaginary drum roll echoed in Kagome's ear as her heart pounded. She could hear her mother's camera clicking rapidly and she tightened her small fingers around the brim of her cap.

"_TWO_!"

She could hear a couple of party poppers go off, stray, impatient cheers could be heard as the graduating class held their breath.

"_THREE_!!"

Two hundred blue clad arms shot into the air, releasing their square caps into the air as confetti rained down onto the graduates. Unified sounds of whooping, and cries of joy could be heard for miles and Kagome let out an answering howl to the screams.

Who said she wasn't any fun?

As the caps came raining back down onto them along with the confetti, she wondered what her grandfather would say to her afterwards.

Several unidentified hands clapped her on the back and she fleetingly acknowledged them with a quick nod as she wondered what kind of "great things" she would go on to accomplish.

But most of all she wondered, as she looked onto the grinning faces of her best friends, the proud gaze in her mother's eyes, and the reluctant smile on her grandfather's lips, if her father were here today; would he be proud of her?

--

"Your father would be so proud of you, dear."

The fresh new car smell permeated the air inside the blue Chrysler mini-van that was zooming down Earl Twine Road. The window was simply a glass case around a moving picture of dense wood and the occasional open field where horses of all sorts of colors grazed the neatly kept acres of land.

Kagome sat in the mid-section of the car, enjoying the soft breeze of the air conditioner that gently swept her face; the summers were hot in northern Georgia.

"Thanks mom," she said quietly.

"I still think you should have been a doctor," piped up her grandfather from the passenger seat. He was so squat; you couldn't see the top of his head over the headrest.

She rolled her eyes in response to his usual banter._ Here we go again_, she thought wearily."How many times do I have to tell you Gramps? I have nowhere _near_ the patience to go to medical school." She mentally snorted, knowing that she barely had the patience to go through vet school. She had to admit that waiting for her real life to start, where she didn't have to rely on her mother's occasional loans and didn't have to work at dingy fast food restaurants for a salary that was barely above minimum wage, was growing to be quite tedious.

Gramps replied with a stubborn "hmph!" and let the matter drop.

She was grateful; she didn't like having to explain her reasoning for her career path. Not only was it a bit awkward but it was also discouraging to have doubts about it herself at times.

Since she had started her path to becoming an animal doctor, she had always had this feeling, she couldn't really explain it, but there was this feeling she got sometimes that she was supposed to be off doing something else, that there was somehow more out there for her than animal doctoring. Between her dreams and these random feelings, she had begun to think that she was going insane. However - not unlike the dreams - she had learned to ignore the false voice of destiny.

Sighing, she dropped her gaze and traced the scar that ran up the middle of her right hand.

Another question without answers, the scar was in the shape of one of abroad _S_. It was much more defined than the natural hand lines that riddled any human's hands. She had another scar on the side of her stomach that she got from tripping on the garden hose when she was seven.

She winced; of all the places that Gramps could have put that broken steel pipe! Unlike the small reminder of the clumsiness of her juvenile years, the scar on her hand was as noticeable as a tattoo and had no explanation. Her mother guessed that she may have cut herself as a baby; too bad that a wound capable of this kind of scarring would probably have severed an infant's hand.

The car took a slight drop, and then it went up again telling her they had just they had just gone over a gutter. She looked up again to see a well kept lawn with a curved sidewalk and full bushes outlining the gap between the lawn and a white porch that was ornamented by dozens of small metallic trinkets dangling from the ceiling making a soft chime in the cool May breeze. Attached to the porch stood a medium-sized, two-story, white house. Kagome grinned, she was home.

She loved her own apartment, but a visit to her mother's house was always something to look forward to. It had the more rustic and old-fashioned look, that she really had grown to love. The green lawn was dotted with small plastic gnomes. In the middle of the lawn was a small orange tree with branches that spread out like a canopy and provided shade for the elegant bench that stood by the trunk of the said tree. Off to the side stood a small, neat garden where her mother grew the herbs she used for cooking. Her mother was probably the greatest cook she would ever meet.

As she got out of the car and stepped onto the driveway she heard a loud barking. Everyone turned in the direction of the racket to see a yellow Labrador darting towards the slightly startled veterinarian. Kagome barely had time to squeal, "Maxie!" before the enormous canine's front paws were on her shoulders and was smothering her with a dog's traditional greeting. Giggling and reaching to scratch him behind the ears, she looked at her mother questioningly.

Her mother smiled. "We fetched him from your apartment before we headed to the ceremony."

Kagome smiled brightly and continued her pleasant scratching. As with her supernatural association with birds, her dog, Max was another creature in which she had an eerie relation. It wasn't like nobody else could get him to listen - he was probably the smartest dog in the world - it was the fact that when she talked to him (yes she talked to him; go figure!) he really, _really _seemed to listen. Also, despite the fact that he had previously belonged to her father, before she was even born - which was another reason she loved him so much - he seemed just as energetic as a puppy, and hadn't seemed to have aged a day for as long as she could remember. Yet another odd mystery in her wacky life!

With Max at her heels she walked into the front door and got a whiff of seemingly delicious home-made pizza. Max hurriedly raced into the living room and pulled down his favorite blanket that was hanging from the couch, spread it to accommodate his size, and curled up for a quick snooze, knowing that his best friend would soon join him, with a good probability at some leftovers. Kagome heard her Gramps sigh; he didn't like it when Max was in the house.

Following a mouth-watering dinner, Gramps asked her to accompany him to his room.After being forced to tell Max not to tag along - Max didn't really like to listen Gramps - and climbing the stairs at an annoyingly slow pace due to Gramps' age, they finally reached his room.

Gramps set his cane down and turned to look at her. His posture was tall and proud even though he was so short.

"Well, I've said it many times before, Kagome, I -"

"Still think I should have been a doctor, yeah I know" she finished for him.

He narrowed his eyes in a silent scorn and she giggled.

She loved her Gramps but she reckoned that probably had a screw slightly loose somewhere in his brain. It was one of the reasons he stayed here, so her mother wanted to keep an eye on him. It wasn't that he was some kind of mental case; he was just a little obsessive with his religion. Even now, when you walked into his room, you couldn't help but feel like you were walking into the home of the pope.

The walls were festooned with crosses of all shapes and sizes like a patchwork pattern on fabric. Religious quotes weaved their way through what little space was left on the wall, and on the floor next to the water bed lay a massive jug of holy water.

Gramps had the crazy idea that evil spirits lurked everywhere in the world and it was essential to be sprinkled with holy water at least once every twenty-four hours. If you didn't lock your door every night, he would sneak in and make sure to run his holy water doused hands on your fore-head; sleeping or not. And even if you _did_ manage to keep him out during the night, you would pay for it the next day by either coming out of your morning grogginess by a short quench of holy water in your face, or spend a half-hour getting chased around the house by a briefly insane, squat, old man with a vat of the "purity juice", as Gramps liked to call it. In fact, Kagome believed that if the water wasn't so old, he would start to use it to swallow his nightly medication.

Despite his quirks, Kagome loved him dearly and wouldn't change him for the world. She found his tight grip on the traditional lifestyle amusing, and his fierce loyalty towards his family - which were constantly shown in his disapproval of sharing her lunch or belongings with anyone, and his reluctance to letting a friend into the house - to be utterly amusing, if not sometimes annoying. Her thoughts were thrust from her mind as Gramps continued to speak.

"Nevertheless, I _am _proud of you, not many people graduate veterinarian school at the age of twenty-four. Therefore I shall give you a little something." He stooped low to rummage through the trunk at the end of his bed. After a few moments of swift searching he produced a small leather- bound book and was quick to thrust it under her nose.

She raised an eyebrow at the dusty, brown book. "What is it?"

Her grandfather grinned with excitement, it was clear he thought that it was the best gift ever. "Open it," he whispered.

Kagome took the book and sat down on the bed. It looked normal enough; she wondered what kind of book it was to make him grin so arrogantly. She cast a narrowed eye at Gramps, who looked particularly proud of himself, before she opened it to look at the first page. What she saw made her heart stop.

In hastily scribbled letters she read:

**THIS DIARY IS THE PROPERTY OF:**

_Oliver Higurashi_

She stared at the writing on the clean, white page as if she had never seen English before, her mind was strangely blank. What was there to say? Obviously she was extremely grateful, but... This was her father's writing! Her father's hand had actually held a pen and had written these letters to form words, his name. His fingers had actually touched this paper. She suddenly found herself savoring the texture of the old pages.

She had proof that he was real, this diary had belonged to him... her father... Oliver Higurashi. The person she never had gotten the chance to know, yet somehow felt like her best-friend. His thoughts, his dreams, his very soul lay within this book, stories that she couldn't hear from her mother's lips, tales that she had always wanted to hear from his point of view. Now she finally had that chance.

She looked up and fixed Gramps with a radiant smile, who smiled back. His slicked back white hair looked neatly combed, and the wrinkles on his aged face gave off a pattern of sound waves that a child would draw coming out of radio. His eyes shined with pride that he had chosen such a good present for her, and she got the impression that he had been saving it for this day for a long time.

"I took that from Oliver after he proposed to your mother" he explained rather pompously.

She looked at him incredulously. "Why?"

"I wanted to verify he wasn't a crazy hoodlum," Gramps growled. "I had to be absolutely sure he was the right man for my daughter."

Kagome rolled her eyes at his fierce concern for his daughter. She rose from the bed and embraced him lovingly, having to bend down a bit to do so. "Thank you so much Gramps."

"Anything for my favorite granddaughter," he replied as he hugged her back.

"I'm your _only_ granddaughter."

She felt him chuckle softly at their long-time joke.

The moment was ruined by a loud barking, echoing up the stairwell. Max was apparently getting tired of waiting for his best friend to feed him the scraps from dinner.

"That mangy dog!" barked Gramps, grabbing his cane and heading for the door with a slight limp in both of his legs, giving him a staggering posture as he walked.

Kagome smiled and followed her grandfather into the hall; she had to make sure Gramps didn't beat Max over the head with his cane!

--

"_Amy my dear, I can't keep up this charade any longer._"

The T.V screen seemed like a beacon of radiance from a light tower, illuminating the otherwise pitch-dark room. Gramps sat in the plush armchair, obviously sleeping. Kagome and her mother sat on opposite sides of the couch, with Max in the middle with his head on Kagome's lap.

"_What do you mean, Rick? I thought we agreed to not keep any secrets from each other._"

They were watching their favorite drama show that happened to be showing that night - at least it was Kagome's and her mother's favorite, Gramps had screamed himself sleepy at Max who had broken his most favorite, and most horrible vase, that was supposedly a "sacred idol". He was already asleep by the time they came in.

"_I know, but... I couldn't tell you these things earlier, but I can now..._"

The big secret about the main character was about to be spilled, and both of the women seemed tense with anxiety. They knew only as much as all the other characters knew, and the suspense was killing them. Viewers had known that Rick was harboring a big secret; they just didn't know what it was, but not for much longer.

"_You probably won't believe this but -_"

The picture cut off and was replaced with the Local News emblem; the 'Emergency' sign in the top right corner of the screen was flashing red.

"_We interrupt this program to bring you a special report from your local news station._"

"NOOOO!!" groaned Kagome's mother, waiting for months to discover one little secret, only to be foiled when the moment finally presented itself tended to infuriate viewers.

Kagome was also irritated with the timing of the interruption, having followed the show as long as her mother had. "I wonder if they do this on purpose," she grumbled.

A somber looking man with short black hair that was slightly tinged with gray, combed to the right side of his face. He was sitting solo behind a wooden desk.

"_Good evening viewers,_"he said importantly, "_I'm Tim Wesley, and we apologize for this brief interruption. There has been another murder in our quiet town, the body was found in an abandoned factory on Bookman Avenue..._"

Kagome groaned, the show all but forgotten. _Another murder? _She squealed inside her head, _that's the sixth one this month and May's not even half-way over! _There had been many mysterious killings for the past several months and people were starting to get uneasy, the fear was starting to become apparent to every single person who resided in their town. Kagome was no exception.

She looked at her mother who also seemed to have forgotten about the show.

"_For more on this subject, here's Gretchen Myers._"

The screen split in two to show a young blonde woman in her early thirties, holding a microphone, Tim was still in the left half of the screen.

"_Thanks Tim,_"she said, the screen enlarged to take up the whole screen, revealing a yellow tape restricting her access to the open yard that housed a worn down factory.

"_Witnesses report that the victim had entered the building as a dare, when the victim didn't come out for nearly an hour, the friends panicked and called 911,_"

The screen cut to a young high school age, brunette girl with tears in her eyes. A label briefly appeared under her to read:

**KAYLA HOUSING**

And under that in smaller letters it read:

**_Friend of the victim._**

Her mother, who had lost all interest in her disrupted program, sighed. "Oh dear, not again."

"_It w-was supposed to be a j-joke!" _sobbed the young girl. "_I was th-the one who c-came up w-with the idea, it was m-my fault I -_" she stopped mid sentence and turned away and the image cut back to Gretchen who looked noticeably gloomy.

"_While police are no closer to catching the culprit, the citizens of this town seem to be having much better luck._"

The screen cut to an old, stern looking, black woman.

"_I was there walkin' my dog on Vernon Hue Drive when I looked in the alleyway an' there was a pair o' red eyes just starin' straight at me,_"The image noticeably cut to a part further into the interview, "_My dog went crazy an' I just high-tailed it out o' there, I was scared half to death! There be demons runnin' around this city, I ain't EVER goin' outside again._"

"Vernon Hue Drive?" mused Kagome's mother, "that's not far at all from here."

The image cut back to Tim who wore a grave expression, "_The witness' last comment would have been put off as nothing but a joke if not for many other sightings of these mystErious red eyes that have appeared in alleyways, roof-tops, and even at people's windows._"

"Ignorant fools!" yelped Gramps, who had seemed to have finally woken up, "It is obvious that evil spirits are among our city!" Gramps took a quick glance at Kagome then without warning, flicked the long awaited holy water into her face.

Kagome rolled her eyes and wiped the perspirationfrom her features when he turned his head. He'd probably just splash her again if she was caught wiping it off.

She suddenly she felt extremely tired. The day's events seemed to have finally caught up with her. She slowly stood from the couch and yawned. "Listen mom, thanks for dinner but I gotta go."

Her mother shook her head, "No dear, that murder happened much too close to here, you're not going anywhere, you can leave tomorrow."

"Oh, mom." Kagome groaned.

Her mother held up a finger, "This isn't a request"

Kagome sighed, when her mother made up her mind about something, there really wasn't much you could do about it, she was extremely persuasive.

She trudged up the stairs, with Oliver's diary in hand and Max in tow. She walked slowly down the hall, her eyes skimming past photographs that served as a sort of timeline to her life. She was wondering when the pictures from today would appear on the wall.

_Who am I? _she thought. _Earlier today, all those people, all my hard work, was it really me? _She glanced down at her father's diary, examining its soft leather cover. _Is this me? _Her fists clenched tightly around the diary, and her eyes burned with anger. Of course it was her! She was there! She felt it, saw it... she lived it. But then... why was there this hole inside of her, a hole that she just couldn't seem to fill. Was this _really _the way it was supposed to be?

She groaned and rubbed her temples delicately. _I have to stop_, she thought tiredly. _This is my life, I chose my path and nothing's going to change my mind, no matter how many times that stupid voice inside my head bugs me about it._

And as if on cue, _You're only fooling yourself, dear_.

She glared and shook her head violently, expelling the voice from her head. She grimaced as she realized it had spoken to her twice in one day. Not only that, but she was even acknowledging it!

_Not good_.

She sighed and continued on her way to her old bedroom. _It's just because I haven't had much sleep_, she told herself. She felt enormous relief as a heavy yawn escaped her mouth, reassuring her theory, as she turned the brass knob of the door to the room at the end of the hall. Happy memories flooded her conscious as she looked around her old room. She couldn't help but smile and all tenseness seemingly melted off of her body, as if she had opened a door within herself as well.

Her mother had kept everything exactly as it was, her plush dolls still rested on the top of the shelves, under which, were many books she hadn't bothered to take with her to the apartment. The walls were still a pale blue and her bed spread was still a slightly worn out black.

Max hopped onto the bed and took his familiar place on the far side of it. He twirled around and around before finally curling contently up in a ball and looking at her with his head cocked a bit to the side, and one ear up and the other one down. The expression he used to get him out of trouble countless times.

She smiled at him before placed the diary on her bedside table and opening the closet on the far side of the room to find what little clothes left she had in there. After a few minutes of rummaging she pulled out a relatively soft, pink night gown that she had no memory of ever buying. She shrugged indifferently and hurriedly changed.

She sighed as the soft silk ran down her body like waves and her eyes grew even heavier than before. She fought to stay awake by shaking her head slightly and the leather-bound diary caught her eye in the process. She eyed the diary with indecision. Maybe she could read it; just one page before bed.

Kagome sighed and reluctantly declined her curiosity in favor of exhaustion. _Tomorrow,_ she promised herself. As of now, she'd be lucky if she got to the bed, let alone read an entire diary entry.

Her feet dragged across the floor and she stumbled onto the comfortable furnishing, clumsy from the lack of rest. As she laid her head on the pillow she played over the words that Mr. Glade had said to her.

_"I'm sure you will go on to do great things." _

She smiled and thought about the long journey she had taken to get to this point. The zoo, high school, college, veterinarian school and now, at the young age of twenty-two, after years of racing she had finally reached the finish line in first place and the rest of her life ahead of her. The feeling gave her the first genuine - however slight - sense of completion.

_All I have to do now... is find a new goal,_ she thought sleepily.

All thoughts left her as she closed her deep blue eyes, letting Max's soft snores take her into deep slumber.

It is a funny thing how people plan for their future, no matter how old they are. Little girls pick out there wedding gowns, and boys choose which cars they wish to possess.

As they mature, the world changes and because of this we adjust the way we see it, changing our opinions and sometimes even our very morals and values. But while their view of the world changes, their desires never do. Girls maintain the aspiration to look beautiful on their wedding day, while boys always hope to have a presentable vehicle to exemplify their independence or their public appeal.

While a man may have no wish to continue a legendary career in sports or music, they always yearn to be remembered for it. They find new ways to reach their ultimate desire as they, and their view of the world changes.

So as Kagome slept, she had a specific way she saw the world and therefore she followed the path that her father had taken so as to keep his memory alive. That was her ultimate desire, and caring for ill animals was the way she saw the world. That was her opinion.

But little did she know that by tomorrow's end, her view of the world would change forever, and she would soon realize that she could keep her father's memory alive in ways she never could have imagined.

Desires never change but the world and the way we see it does, and Kagome's world was about to change forever.

* * *

**:Author's Notes:**

_Whew! That'll probably be the longest chapter I'll ever write - over 7,000 words!_

_Feedback is greatly appreciated and I don't mind flaming too much._

_Thank you all for taking the time to read!_

.

**Acknowledgements**

_None at the moment; but that could change! _

_(wink)_

.

.

**_NEXT CHAPTER:_**_ Full of Surprises_

_(Brace for one hectic day of hardcore shopping, heartache, and one helluva cliffy) _

.

**_Eyes of Eden_**


	4. Full of Surprises

_**Chapter**_ _**Two**_

**FULL OF SURPRISES**

**Warning:**

_Gruesomeness, language and mild violence_

* * *

_**The clear summer sky encompassed **_a bright sun that shone boldly through the windows of the Higurashi residence. The old-fashioned curtains billowed lightly in the sweet breeze that made entry through the open windows. The atmosphere would have been quite tranquil if not for the vociferous horn of Eri's car outside.

Kagome hurried in front of the full body mirror in the foyer to give herself a quick once-over before heading out.

She couldn't deny to herself that she was exceptionally pretty. Her dark brown locks cascaded down to her mid-shoulder blade in slight waves with some coming over the front side of her shoulders. She wore a clean, white t-shirt under a red blouse that clung to her shapely body. Blue denim stretched across her thighs tightly before flaring out a bit. Kagome's blue eyes rolled at Eri's impatience beneath her Oakley sunglasses.

She quickly grabbed her handbag, pausing only to tell her mother that she was leaving before wrenching open the front door and closing it behind her.

"C'mon girl, we've only been waiting for like half a minute!" Eri yelled out from her hoodless, silver Audi A4. Kagome supposed that having a father that owned his own oil company certainly had its advantages.

"Oh, poor you" she replied in a fake sympathy voice as she hopped into the back seat without opening the door, the passenger front seat already taken by another familiar face. "Ayumi, how did _you_ convince her to give you a ride?"

She could almost hear her friend's grin. "The same thing you did," she replied smugly as Eri pulled expertly out of the large driveway. "Threatening Eri's shopping time _really _seems to work. It's amazing we didn't think of it before!"

Kagome laughed as Eri glared at her friend, careful to keep her eye on the road while doing so.

Having stayed at her mother's house the previous night Kagome's Nissan Altima was considerably out of reach. So instead of troubling her mother with the chore of giving her a ride to the apartment, Kagome had given Eri the choice of waiting an hour for a cab to show up at her house, or she could just give her a ride. Between her atypical obsession with shopping around the mall and her odd possessiveness over her car, shopping had won out.

Kagome frowned when she realized that Ayumi must have been away from her home as well if she had been able to make the same threat. "Where were _you_ staying, Heath?"

Judging by the stiffness in her shoulders, and her slight stammer, Kagome could tell her friend was blushing and this time it was Eri's turn to laugh.

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" she snorted. "Ayumi and a _very_ special friend of hers had a little slumber party last night."

Kagome laughed again as Ayumi glared holes into Eri's head. She wasn't really surprised. While Eri's specialty was shopping, and school was her own, Ayumi's area of expertise was boys.

Ayumi had big brown eyes, straight black hair and deeply tanned.

It wasn't like she was anymore pretty than the other two. Eri was quite a looker as well, with light blue eyes and long, blonde hair that almost always was accompanied with a silly grin. All three of them had their fair share of turned heads, it was just that Ayumi was a bit more… bold.

Even though shopping wasn't much of a shopaholic, it felt good to get away from the pressures of her studies. The short ride to the mall was fairly enjoyable. The wind blew through their hair as they chatted pleasantly about nothing in particular. Amongst the blaring music and constant laughter, Kagome completely forgot that she was a new veterinarian grad. It felt good to let go of the responsibility in her life, to forget about all the stress and just have fun.

So what was this feeling that went through her today? The vague feeling of foreboding teased her conscious mind, pulling at her interest the more faint the sensation got. It was like trying to hear the words to a song from afar, sometimes catching the words faintly, other times it was like the song wasn't even playing.

Of course, that constant feeling of indifference and doubt of belonging plagued her mind that day as well.

Not that it got to her or anything, of course!

As they pulled smoothly into an empty parking space, she decided the mystery feeling was simply unease.

They all got out of the car and ambled up to the huge building through the vast parking lot. You could hear the dull flapping of their flip-flops on the cement distinctly as her friends argued about a guy Eri had met the other day, Kagome listening amusedly.

"…He has the cutest smile," Eri was saying excitedly.

"But what about his hair, it's a total mess!"

Kagome listened to her friends banter, and she inwardly giggled. She knew the young man they were talking about personally. She also knew for a fact that, despite her invectiveness, Ayumi had flirted with the said man on more than one occasion. She rolled her eyes, some things would never change.

The skin in the back of her neck suddenly bristled, goose-bumps raced along the surface of her flesh and the apprehensive feeling of being watched took her by surprise. She stopped as the shiver raced down her spine and instinctively looked over her shoulder.

Some kids were playing tag in the neighboring park, the sound of their laughter carrying to her ears. To her right, some teenagers were currently in the process of putting out a cigarette as they saw a security guard approaching and to her left a frantic mother was trying to get the baby on her hip to stop crying as two other toddlers that looked like they could be twins dances around their overwhelmed mother. The place was packed but no one looked as if they were attempting to spy. She breathed a sigh of reprieve.

Her relief was short lived however, when something caught her eye.

Standing a ways away from the children playing tag, stood a cloaked figure of medium height, mostly hidden by the shadows cast by the boughs of the tree that he — or was it a she? — leaned against. Some of the kids gave the figure inquisitive looks, but none lingered long enough to be caught by their pursuer of the intense game they were all enjoying.

The first thing Kagome contemplated was what in the hell this person was wearing.

The second thing she wondered was if it was a man or a woman. Kagome instinctually decided that it was a woman.

"Kagome, what're you staring at?"

Kagome gasped and looked back at her friends who were staring at her with curious expressions. She shook her head. "Nothing… uh…"

She looked back towards the figure in the park and her brows furrowed.

The figure had disappeared.

Trying not to seem spooked, she forced the incident to the back of her mind and followed her friends into the mall.

The girls looked around, tried new clothes on, not really expecting to buy anything, just happy to be hanging out. But Kagome never lost the feeling that she was being followed. Time and time again she would glance over her shoulder, but the cloaked woman was nowhere to be found.

Hours went by and Kagome swore they went to every single store there was; they even stopped for a movie! At about seven o'clock, their stomachs that had previously stuffed with popcorn and twizzlers started to growl so they stopped for ice-cream.

Having been to this particular store many times, they had no need to stop and think about what they wanted. Ayumi ordered the chocolate fudge Sunday, Eri asked for the banana split and Kagome received the Oreo sprinkled cone.

They slurped, licked, and munched on their delicious, cold desert, indulging in a lighthearted argument about Eri's new phone. Everything seemed perfect… until_ he _walked in.

Kagome probably wouldn't have seen him if her ice-cream hadn't dripped onto her hand. She tilted her head to the side to lick off the running drop of vanilla and saw him walking by… with his arms laced around a pretty woman's waist, who was laughing flirtatiously in his ear.

He probably wouldn't have stopped either if she hadn't gasped aloud. But she did and he spotted her. He smirked devilishly before leaning over and whispered something in her ear. The girl looked at Kagome and giggled evilly. The couple turned and walked into the parlor as if they owned the place.

"…I'm telling you, that thing is _way_ too glitchy!" argued Ayumi, trying to snatch the cellular away from Eri. "Isn't that right Kagome? ... Kagome? ... Kagome what — _oh_…" She said the last part with somuch venom that Eri looked almost afraid until she saw who she was looking at.

"What in the _hell_ is that sick bastard doing here!" she whispered furiously.

"Hello ladies," said a cool voice in a mock pleasant tone.

The girls looked up to see the face of Shawn Alderson, Kagome's ex-boyfriend.

No one could deny that he was handsome, with thin black hair that threatened to cover his eyes, a slim form with cool hazel eyes.

There was a time when Kagome could lose herself in those eyes, now they only terrified her. They made her wonder who else was laughing at her behind her back, who else was lying to her. She couldn't take the sight of those malicious spheres and she stuffed her head beneath her arms, silently praying for the world to swallow her whole.

"Hello Shawn," Ayumi replied coolly before gesturing towards the girl on his arm. "Who's the slut?"

"Excuse me?" spat the blonde haired girl, who suddenly had fire in her pale-blue eyes, "Who're _you _calling a slut? I know all about _your_ littleescapades."

The girl's long blonde hair swished behind her as she shifted her weight onto her hip and crossed her arms, looking triumphant.

Eri came to her friend's defense, "Well you see, it's a bit different when you at least have standards. At least _she _doesn't parade around like hooker you pick up off the streets."

Despite their contempt for the pair, this statement was actually pretty accurate. Her top may as well have been a bikini, not even covering all of her ribcage. And her leather skirt barely provided more coverage than her clearly visible undergarments.

"Tell me Shawn, how many more of these girls do you have skulking around the mall like this, hmmm? How many of those girls are you sleeping with?"

Shawn just smirked. "Well that's for me to know and for you to wonder, isn't it?"

"Shawn would _never_ cheat on me!" shouted the blonde tramp, ignorantly. "No one loves him like I do!"

"Shawn would _never_ cheat on me!" the blonde tramp hissed. "No one loves him like I do!"

"Right" Eri said sarcastically, who was now on her feet. "Sort of sounds like Kagome a few months ago, doesn't it? Look how _that_ turned out." They were starting to attract attention, heads turned and necks craned to get a good look at the sure to come explosion.

Beneath the protection of her arms, Kagome shook with anger and embarrassment as her two friends fought with her ex-boyfriend's new "girlfriend" She looked up and saw him leaning against the wall, just watching the action unfold. He caught her looking and he smirked.

Her head went back under her arms.

"I'm completely different from that pathetic girl," the tramp countered furiously. She paused before giggling maliciously, "Didn't even know her own father, did she? Poor girl, bet he died in a car crash coming back from some whore house or something. Can't really blame him though, her mother's such a friggin' —"

But exactly what Kagome's mother was, she never got the chance to voice. At that moment Ayumi stood up with practiced speed to grab an enraged Eri from around the waist. But not before, Eri's fist connected with the tramps jaw with a sickening _crack_.

"C'mon," growled the infuriated girl, seemingly clawing at the girl who was now close to tears. "Let me kill the bitch, no one'll even see, I swear!" Eri always had quite the temper.

The tramp screamed obscenely insults to the trio as she was forcibly rushed away by a bored looking Shawn as though he did this every day. Everyone was watching now, a few mothers rushed their children out of the parlor, while an old couple just watched silently and shook their heads.

"As tempting as that sounds, no," grunted the besieged Ayumi. "We've already drawn enough attention."

She turned her head about to ask Kagome for help when she realized that she wasn't there.

"Hey!" cried Ayumi, finally releasing her friend, "Where's Kagome?"

--

Kagome sat in a stall in the bathroom with her head in her hands. She lifted her face slightly to reveal puffy red eyes. She stomped the floor as hard she could, resulting in a loud _clack_ that echoed off the bathroom walls. But yet it wasn't enough to release the heightening anger that coursed through her veins she wanted to break something, make_ something_ feel as hurt as she did.

With a loud sob her head burrowed back between her folded arms.

_Why does he keep getting to me like this?_ _I want to forget him! Why can't I just let go?_

She needn't ask herself these questions, but she couldn't help herself. She had asked it so many times it was almost second nature. Even though she had the 'privilege' of enjoying a night or two in a few other men's bed before she met Shawn, it was safe to say that she never felt the way she did about anyone else before. His hazel eyes had captivated her from the moment she met him.

They had started out as friends, going out in groups, to bars and clubs, nothing serious. But slowly and surely they started going out with less and less people until it was just them.

The more she talked to him, the more she liked him. He was so much more mature than all the other boys she had met, he had been considerate and caring, and it wasn't long until she had eagerly welcomed him into her bed and heart. Months went by, and Shawn kept on being Shawn, everything just seemed perfect. It wasn't till about five weeks ago she started to realize that she had fallen in love with him. She told him this and was overjoyed at his reaction. He decided that they should move in together.

It wasn't until later she realized that it was his way of leaving her.

She had entered his apartment, lugging her huge suitcase behind her, without knocking. At the time it didn't seem like that big of a deal, — she was moving in for Heaven's sake! — But it was how she had 'caught' him in the act.

There he was, on the bed that, until that moment, she had considered _their_ bed, with a girl whose legs were wrapped around his hips. Her moans of delight were still etched inside her brain. He didn't even try to deny it; he only laughed at her, told her to go home.

And go home she did. She ran as fast as she could with a huge suitcase behind her, trying desperately not to cry. She remembered reaching her apartment complex and asking the landlord desperately if she could have her room back.

"_But I thought you were moving in with your boyfriend,"_ He had said.

She remembered replying, _"So did I."_

And that was when the sadness came full force and she finally let all her tears out. Never before had she felt so betrayed, so hurt… so alone.

And still, about a month later, after all that he had done, he _still_ had some kind of hold over her.

_I can't keep letting him get to me like this! I want to forget, I don't want to hurt anymore!_

She heard the door to the public bathroom open slowly, and a few seconds later the dull thuds of someone knocking on her stall door.

"Taken!" she croaked.

"It's me!" said a familiar voice, "open up."

Kagome sighed; she should have known they would find her. She wiped her eyes as best she could before standing up and threw open the latch. The door swung open and she was greeted with brown eyes of greatest pity from Ayumi. Without warning she embraced the hurt girl to which she did not respond to. "Don't worry about him, Kagome."

Kagome gently tugged herself from her friend's grip, she didn't want to seem weak in front of her. "I'm fine," she insisted softly, "don't worry about me."

Ayumi only smiled knowingly. They had known each other since sixth grade, neither of them could fool the other. They knew each other like the back of their hands. But Ayumi also knew better than to press. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" she demanded, "you're just letting him walk all over you!"

Kagome glared at her friend, "Do you think I _want_ this, Ayu?" she hissed, "Do you think I _like_ this?!"

Ayumi shook her head hurriedly. "No, of course not!"

"Because I don't! I hate it! I hate it so much, you don't even know!" She turned her back on her friend and continued her tirade, trying to hide the fresh tears threatening to escape from her eyes. "I want to hate him, I want to be able to talk to him like you and Eri do, but I can't, at least not yet!" She bowed her head as a few tears escaped their dark prison and made their escape down her cheek.

"Do you still love him?"

The question came softly but it might as well have been screamed though a megaphone. Kagome found herself listening to the echoes rather than the voice of her friend as she contemplated the question. And then it was only silence. Whether it was seconds, minutes or hours that passed, she didn't know, but Kagome made a reluctant trip through the twisted jungle of emotions inside her.

Did she still love Shawn? Could she really ever hate him? No matter what happened she could still remember all those times that he would make her laugh and smile. She could still remember loving him. Did that count? Could she really just throw that all away, and forget it? Could she _really _ever hate him? But then again, how could she still love him? The way he treated her back there, the way he purposefully humiliated her so many times before, how could she even _think _about forgive him? But forgiveness wasn't the question, was it? It was the matter of love. Did her heart still hold the picture of Shawn captive? Conflicting sides clashed and she screwed her eyes into a pained expression. It was all so confusing.

She turned slowly to face her friend a solitary tear ran down her cheek. The sound it made when the drop hit the tile floor was almost audible, it was so quiet. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. Ayumi smiled sadly but said nothing. There was nothing to say, feelings were so hard to try and figure out but when you actually did, you sometimes wish you hadn't even tried.

To her enormous relief her cell phone rang insistently from her pocket, cutting their tense conversation short. She flipped it open and sniffed trying to ride her nose of congestion to make her voice sound as normal as possible. "Hello?"

"_Yes, is this Miss. Kagome Higurashi?_" the voice sounded extremely proper, but scratchy at the same time as if the speaker hadn't had water in days.

"Yes."

The speaker audibly cleared his throat. "_This is Davie Coolidge Animal Hospital. We are calling you in the concerns of the resume you sent to us_."

Kagome's eyes widened, thoughts of Shawn almost completely left her mind. Her mind automatically switched to business mode, as she wiped a few stray tears from her face even though this man couldn't see her.

"Yes what about it?" she said trying make her voice sound as professional as possible.

In the corner of her eye she could see Ayumi mouthing, 'Who is it?' She waved her hand at her in a dismissive manner and concentrated on what the man was saying.

"_We believe we may have an opening for you_," replied the pompous speaker.

Now having to fight to keep her voice in check she replied, "Really?"

"_Yes, we would like to meet with you at nine o' clock tonight_.

Her brows furrowed. "Tonight?"

"_Tonight_," was his reply, "_Do not be late_."

The line went dead.

Kagome pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it as if it had two heads. Was that how all job offers _normally _went down?

"Hello? Earth to Kagome!"

Kagome was yanked out of her thoughts and she acknowledged her friend with a bewildered look. She had forgotten that Ayumi was there.

Ayumi sighed dramatically. "Well now that conversation is over, will you _please_ end the suspense and tell me who it was?"

Kagome couldn't help but giggle; Ayumi was nosy by nature, but in a sweet sort of way, if that was possible.

"It was Davie Coolidge Animal Hospital they want to —" She didn't even get to finish.

"Oh my god, Kagome!!" Ayumi squealed, cutting her off rather effectively. She wasted no time in quickly moving to crush her friend in a loving embrace for the second time that night.

"Relax," said Kagome shaking her off gently. "I'm not even hired yet, they just want to talk."

"I know but it's so soon! I mean graduation was yesterday!" Ayumi said excitedly. "They must _really_ be interested!"

Kagome considered the thought. Could it have possibly been a prank call? After all it wasn't exactly a secret that her career path lye in animal doctoring. And how hard could it be to find her cell phone number?

She hurriedly snatched her cellular out of her pocket again. Her thumbs danced across the miniature buttons with practiced speed as she checked the _Recent Calls_ tab.

And there it was, in bold proof. Fashioned out of the box lettering on her cell phone screen, she read the words: 'Davie Coolidge'. It was real, it was official, after twelve years of waiting she could finally make a difference. The proof was right there in black and white. Her heart thumped with excitement that she had never known as she dried her tears quickly and exited the stall, leaving a perplexed Ayumi inside.

It might have been weird to call at such a late hour, maybe it was unprofessional that she was asked for an interview at such short notice, but she didn't care. She could move on from all of this sadness, this was where she could start over this was where she began her future.

If only she knew just how right she was.

--

"I'm sorry Miss, but I ain't going any further."

Kagome was seething in anger. She had insisted on calling a cab when her friends had offered her a ride, and now she was fervently regretting her decision. This man was refusing to take her to where she had already paid him to go. She didn't even know why he stopped! He just kept saying that he wasn't going any further. Now wasn't the time to deal with lunatics, dammit!

"Fine," she said, finally giving up. "I'll walk," she got out of the taxi, slamming the door behind her. She walked to the driver's window, making him roll it down. She handed him the money that she owed before storming off. She heard the cab drive off, its tires squeaking loudly as it made its hasty retreat. Kagome shook her head. _What a wierdo_.

Her footsteps seemed to echo in the silence as she walked down the sidewalk. She passed the various stores that lined her side of the street. A four lane street separated her from another wall of stores, but no matter where she looked, there was not a soul. The young woman shivered. This void of pedestrians and cars was unnatural and eerie, and she wondered where everyone was.

Kagome shrugged indifferently. It really didn't matter; the hospital was just around the corner and she'd be damned if she was late. Taking out her cell phone she looked at its clock feature and cursed. It was five till nine, and she really couldn't afford to be even a minute late. She wanted to make a good first impression.

She stopped to eye an alley that separated a store with used furniture and a pawn shop. She could see the other end and could tell that it was where she needed to be. She frowned, as common sense battled with the urgency of the situation. She had to choose between safety and a job opportunity. The decision didn't take her more than a few seconds.

A smile graced her lips, confident in her decision as the darkness of the alleyway swallowed her petite form.

Kagome tried not to focus on the darkness or the absolutely _putrid_ smell emanating from somewhere in the alleyway. She kept her eyes on the prize as she walked leisurely towards the other side. She was almost half way through when a sudden pang of metal from behind made her jump. She turned around quickly only to see the dark outline of a clever raccoon that seemed to have found his dinner in the aluminum trash can.

She let out a breath she hadn't realized he was holding. _Get a hold of yourself, Kagome. There's nothing to be scared of just keep walking and you'll be fine._

Her mind told her one thing, her gut told her another. But her legs made it clear as to who they were listening to as she once again set off towards the exit, but this time at a much brisker pace. The putrid smell in the air grew stronger with every step and she gagged at its stench. She fixed her resolve and tried to not breathe in through her nose.

Kagome's mind seemed to have been correct, however, when nothing else bothered her. She finally had convinced all of herself that everything was fine and was beginning to walk slower when her foot struck something hard about three quarters of the way out and she stumbled. She cursed foully and used the light from her cell phone to illuminate the darkness of the alleyway and see what had caused her falter.

The only good thing about her discovery was that she found out what the horrible stench in the air was.

The light shined onto what she could only assume was the decaying body of a middle aged man. Broad shoulder jutted out of a chest, the flesh on the torso looking as if someone had simply peeled large strips of skin off of the body. Flies covered the corpse like a thunder cloud and she looked away, too frightened to look at anything else.

At that moment, Kagome swore she had never been so scared in her life. But she was proved wrong when a terrifying voice appeared out of nowhere, its abrasive pattern promising the fear of a horrible nightmare.

"Well well, what do we have here? The voice was dark, cold and scratchy, like something out of an old horror movie that still managed to scare you silly. She looked up slowly to see the owner of the terrifying voice.

The sight before her made the dead man beside her look like a child's cartoon. Filthy garbs clung in withered tatters to a grey tinged man, if you even could call it a man. Its arms and chest rippled with lean muscles, and stray patches of horribly shaven hair. A small crop of orange hair peeked out from his bony head. His shoes were torn and blood stained, as was the rest of his clothing.

She met its eyes and her fears were confirmed. Murderous red eyes stared straight back at her and it smirked.

Kagome's mind had always been a sharp one, always quick with an answer whether it was asked by a professor at school, or by one of her friends. But at that moment, Kagome's mind held no answers. It was as if it had completely shut down, save for the one sentence reverberating through her head over and over again.

_Oh my god, I'm going to die!_

* * *

**:Author's Notes:**

_Heh, heh, heh… I'm SOOO evil! I'm a little uneasy about this chapter and I'm definitely gonna take a look at it and edit a few shaky paragraphs._

_For all who reviewed, thank you, and don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have._

_Until next time!_

.

**Acknowledgements**

_Chanda/kokoronagomu/Liesie/Stinkypinker_

.

.

_**NEXT CHAPTER:**__ The Old Woman and the New World _

_(There is fear in the eyes of the fearless, greed in the hearts of the selfless, but can there be confusion in the minds of the intelligent?) _

_**Eyes of Eden**_


	5. The Old Woman and the New World

_**Chapter Three**_

**THE OLD WOMAN AND THE NEW WORLD**

**Warning:**

_Violence and mild language_

* * *

_**Kagome was officially having the worst day of her life.**_ First, Shaun shows up and ruins her first chance at relaxation in months, only to find out that a job interview was waiting for her at one of the most prestigious animal hospitals in the state. Now not only was she going to miss the interview, she was about to get eaten by some red-eyed lunatic who thought he was the new and improved Edward Scissorhand!

The disgusting aroma from the body beside her seemed to dissipate as her heart beat faster by the second. Her eyes were wide, her muscles were tensed, and only her heart beat could be heard in the deafening silence.

The thing drew closer and her sense of smell came racing back, as the stench of blood and rotting flesh attacked her nostrils. She saw what looked horribly like blood staining its sharp teeth. The beast saw the terror in her eyes and it smirked maliciously.

"Now what would a young woman such as yourself be doing in a place like this, hmm?"

She struggled to control her breathing as blood pounded deafeningly in her ears. She started to step backwards, trying to put as much distance between herself and the insane creature as possible. Something in her urged her to do something so she tried to speak. "I…"

"Such beautiful skin," the beast interrupted, closing the distance between them to drag an abnormally long and sharp nail roughly against her skin, and she felt her skin crawl at the beast's touch. Too frightened to stop herself, her legs gave out and she collapsed, but for some reason the only thing she noticed was the small trickle of blood that ran down her arm. The beast chuckled before kneeling down. "Perhaps, I shall use it to weave myself a new mat, hmm? I need a new mat, and you'd make _such_ a lovely one. Would you like that, tasty human?"

Kagome only shook her head dumbly. Her usually sharp mind was unfamiliarly vacant. Perhaps it was preparing for the fate that seemed sure to come? "A-are you the one who's been m-murdering everyone?" she whispered, stammering in her terror.

The beast looked at her as if she was the one who was insane before it raised its hairy head and barked an inhumanly high-pitched laughter. As the beast howled Kagome bit her lip to stop herself from screaming out her horror. She couldn't blame the beast for laughing… It was a pretty stupid question.

"You are very entertaining, tasty human," it chuckled. Red eyes fixed on her blue ones before it swooped down and ran its rough tongue along the faint blood trail on her arm. He looked up, a mad excitement dancing in its crimson orbs. "I will immensely enjoy devouring your delicious skin if it is half as good as your blood," he whispered blissfully as he dove his hairy head down to sample the crimson liquid once more.

Something snapped inside of her as his disgusting tongue ran over her skin for the second time. She glared in outrage and yanked her arm out of its captor's clawed grasp, ignoring the painful scrape of razor against her flesh as its claws dragged across her skin. Her other hand shot into the handbag she had dropped and withdrew the can of mace concealed within. "Get the hell away from me, you creep!" she shrieked before letting him have it full in the face.

The effect was immediate and the beast's hands shot to its burning eyes, its long nails cutting into its gray tinged skin as it howled. "MY EYES, MY EYES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, TASTY HUMAN?"

Kagome acted quickly. After making sure to empty the contents of the bottle, she shot up from the ground and swung her foot straight up, burying it in the beast's unprotected crotch. It groaned in pain as it sank to its knees, still trying to rub the burning liquid from its eyes, cutting himself in the process. She turned tail and ran towards the exit of the dark alleyway, thanking God that the beast had the same vulnerability as normal males. She hadn't even known if it _was_ a male.

_I do now_, she thought almost proudly. She liked to think she was strong enough to defend herself.

Her triumph was short-lived however when she was suddenly pushed to the ground by an unseen force. She yelped as her ankle twisted sickly and a sharp pain shot up her leg. Her left arm shot out instinctively to break her fall, the rough asphalt grating against the soft skin of the unfortunate appendage.

She shook as rough hands flipped her over, none too gently. Its eyes were puffy and small cuts decorated its face. How had it caught up with her so quickly? With mace practically burning his eyes, he shouldn't have even been able to see!

Taking in the red eyes, elongated teeth, and nails that looked more like claws she thought, _This thing isn't human!_

"You will pay for that, tasty human," it growled, baring its sharp teeth. "I was going to make it quick, but now… now I shall make you suffer."

Its hands snaked their way around her throat and squeezed with more force than seemed humanly possible. She struggled futilely against the beast's hold as it continued to crush her wind-pipe. She struck out blindly, her fist luckily colliding with the side of its head. Hearing a dull grunt, she felt the strong fingers around her throat loosen and she thought for a moment that she had knocked it out. A searing pain in her right shoulder proved otherwise and she screamed in agony before the hands returned to her neck.

"That's it, tasty human. Scream!" it said with twisted glee, now shaking the poor young woman's neck, her head flopping back and forth as she fought for much needed oxygen. "No one's coming to save you so keep on screaming! It's only pleasant music to my ears!"

A tear slipped from her eye as she struggled pathetically in the beast's strong grasp. What about her bright future? She was supposed to go on to do great things! It couldn't just end like this, could it? Tightened fingers on her throat seemed to provide her answer as she looked at the face of her killer. Its insane red eyes held sick eagerness at the sight of the dying woman. It licked his lips as her face started to turn purple.

It leaned forward and hissed in her ear, "You're going to taste simply delicious, tasty human. I can hear your heart beating so fast and I can't wait to rip it out of your chest. Perhaps it will still be beating, hmm? That would be tasty, wouldn't it?"

Kagome couldn't respond even if she wanted to. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Darkness took her, she was falling… falling… falling…

And suddenly the pressure of the hands was gone. She could breathe again. She gasped loudly, greedily sucking the oxygen into her deprived lungs. She opened her eyes and saw the beast face down in the filthy ground of the alleyway, a long, curved knife buried into the back of his throat. Kagome quickly tried to crawl away from the insane creature that had nearly succeeded in taking her life as it thrashed lightly in its death throes.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk to strangers?"

She jumped, and lifted her gaze to meet that of the speaker's. Her deep, blue eyes met soft brown ones. Slightly gnarled hands that screamed arthritis gripped an ancient looking walking stick that came up to her hip. It was an old woman.

Kagome raised herself onto her elbows to get a better look at her rescuer. She was of medium height, obviously stunted and shrunk from old age. Pale skin sagged and wrinkled under the weight of all the winters she had apparently seen. Her brown eyes showed great wisdom and kind intentions. The only thing that didn't seem aged was her hair, which was a pure, snowy white that dangled past her hips. The color seemed to be from dye rather than actual aging. She gasped as her eyes took in the familiar black garments the nameless, old woman wore.

"You're that woman from the park!" she said in a raspy voice, her speech capabilities suffering from the recent attempt on her life.

The old woman chuckled. "Glad to see you're observation skills have not been spoiled as much as your voice, from your… traumatizing experience."

Her eyes shifted to the unmoving form of her would-be killer. Brown orbs became hard and cold, as she walked towards the creature with grace that suggested her walking stick was unnecessary, its wood echoed in the narrow alley as it met the hard asphalt with every step she took.

She drew near the beast and dropped to her knees and examined its face, she scowled with what looked like pure hatred. Her hands grasped the hilt of the long knife that still resided in the back of its neck and pulled with swiftness that defied her age. The knife was removed from the beast's throat with a sickening slurp and she cleaned the blade quickly on the creature's pathetic excuse for a shirt. The old woman turned back towards her, all trace of hatred from her eyes were gone, only to be replaced with genuine care and… something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Child, why on earth did you enter this alley?" she asked, concern in her voice.

Once again her voice was raspy as she spoke. "My… my name is —"

"I know your name, Kagome," The old woman cut in calmly. "Now please, kindly answer the question."

Kagome's breath caught in her abused throat. "How do you kn-know my name?" she whispered, ignoring the stranger's request.

The old woman smiled slyly, "I know many things about you, child. I know that you live alone with a dog named Max in an apartment. I know you have recently graduated from Veterinarian school, and I also know the names of all your blood relatives. Now answer the question. Why did you enter this alley?"

Kagome's eyes suddenly narrowed, brash anger brewed inside of her. She was obviously grateful for her rescue, but it was her own business as to why she had entered the alley; who was she to lecture her? She already felt pretty stupid about the whole thing anyways. "Look!" she snapped irritably, breaking out of her victim behavior. "I really don't feel comfortable being interrogated by some weird person I don't even know after I was nearly suffocated by some lunatic! _Especially,_ since you seem to know so much about me!"

The old woman raised a brow and, to her great surprise, laughed merrily. Her laughter echoed in the alley, providing a stark contrast to the dreary setting. Her left hand went to her knee as her small body shook with her laughter. "I have to admit, child," she said, amusement in her eyes as she pointed to the beast she had slain with her walking stick. "That cretin was right, you _are _entertaining."

Kagome glared at the old woman and nearly pouted. This stranger was making fun of her. "That's _not_ funny," she snarled.

The old woman chuckled. "Alright fair enough, child. I won't ask you any questions until I answer yours."

Kagome's eyes furrowed in suspicion, but her mind furiously sifting through the seemingly endless questions she wanted to ask. There were so many, it was impossible to choose one out of thousands.

The old woman then sighed and closed her eyes. "However, I am afraid I cannot answer any of your questions at this time, child. Let us get you home. We can discuss these things as we tend to your wounds."

The young woman looked at her right shoulder; blood was dripping out of mangled flesh that looked like it had been through a blender. The pain from the wound finally caught up with her shock and she gasped as it throbbed ferociously and her left hand instinctively moved to cover the gash, but it was stopped by another gnarled hand before it could touch the wound.

"Easy, child," came the woman's voice as another knotted hand appeared under her left arm, helping her up off of the filthy ground. "Don't touch that wound; the consequential feeling is rather unpleasant." She began to walk, supporting the injured woman as best she could with her aged body.

Kagome glared at her bluntness as they hobbled out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk of the main road. The stores passed by slowly, and Kagome couldn't help but ask one question. "Why do you keep calling me 'child' if you know my name?" she asked.

The old woman shrugged as best she could with the young woman's weight on her shoulders. "Force of habit I suppose."

She said nothing else. Kagome noticed the old woman had a rather noticeable burn on her left eye, causing her to slightly narrow the respective lid. Another question was stored in her traumatized mind as she wondered how she managed to injure such a fragile part of her anatomy without going blind.

"Well if you know my name, I guess it's only fair that I know yours. Right?"

To her delight, the old woman nodded as they crossed the street, not having to bother with traffic at such a late hour of the night and headed down another road. "I suppose so, child," she said with slight indifference. "My name is Káede Marinotto."

Kagome winced as her right shoulder brushed against a street sign, pain shot up her arm and she frowned. This cut wasn't _that_ bad, was it? "Káede Marinotto, gotcha. Nice to meet you, Káede."

Once again, Káede surprised her as she laughed gaily. "Aye," she said. "Likewise, child, if only we could have met under more pleasant circumstances."

Kagome didn't respond. She had many questions for this, Káede Marinotto, and she would get her answers soon enough.

--

Her home came into view about an hour after leaving the alley. Kagome was too tired to ask but she noticed that Káede didn't ask for directions once. To her surprise the front door was open, and the pair stumbled into the foyer, greeted by Max's eager barking from somewhere within the dark house.

"Max, be quiet boy!" Kagome whispered furiously in the dark.

The pair saw the faint outline of the blonde Labrador poking his head around the corner with one ear up and the other down, his head cocked to side. Seeing who the visitors were his dark eyes lit up and you could tell his tail was wagging furiously. Max strutted up to the pair and tried to get close enough to their faces to lick them, barking excitedly all the while.

"Max, be quiet! You're going to wake up Mom and Gramps!"

They turned into the kitchen, Max following them with his pink tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. The light to the kitchen came on and Kagome blinked at the sudden illumination. She was lead to one of the wooden chairs that stood around the rustic, circular table.

"Charlotte and your grandfather are not here as of now," the old woman said coolly as she set Kagome down on one of the wooden chairs and propped her sprained ankle onto another.

"How do you know that?" Kagome asked as Káede gathered ice into a baggy that seemed to be produced out of nowhere. "And how do you know my mom's name?" How the hell did she know so much about her family?

Káede pointed wordlessly as she worked towards a strip of lined paper held onto the refrigerator by a silver magnet. She could read the writing from here.

_Kagome,_

_Went to go get Gramps his medication. Will be back soon._

_-Mom_

Káede didn't answer her second question.

She felt a cold wetness meet the swollen flesh of her ankle and she moaned in slight reprieve. She glanced over to see, to her slight surprise, that Max was getting his ears scratched by Káede just where he liked it and Kagome frowned. Max was never the one to warm up to someone immediately. He was never hostile, just a bit uncomfortable around people he didn't know. Judging by the pleased rumble from Max's stomach as the gnarled hand massaged his sensitive ears, she could only infer that Max knew Káede quite well.

She suddenly remembered the old woman's promise and she settled onto the back of her chair as Káede soaked a ribbon of blue cloth, that also seemed to come out of nowhere, in warm water from the sink."Spill it," she said expectantly. She was never one to unnecessarily prolong something. Why start now?

The old woman chuckled before turning to press the lukewarm cloth against her injured shoulder. Kagome hissed in pain as the warm water stung the sensitive flesh. "What would you like to know first?" she asked as she bent down to make sure the icepack was situated correctly before leaning back on the cushioned wood of the old fashioned chair.

Kagome asked the most obvious question first. "What was that… that… _thing_?"

The old woman smiled bitterly. "Such creatures are not worthy of any title, but people tend to call them Carthruts." The old woman got a distant look in her eyes, as though she was recalling distant memories. "I suppose you could find the decency too pity such a creature, if not for all of the atrocities they have committed over the years." Káede's eyes grew weary; the weight of her age seemed to take a brief toll on her. Kagome could tell that Káede had seen a lot of these "atrocities" over the course of her life.

"They were once good men and woman, until something wicked drove them to insanity. They are now nothing more than bloodthirsty monsters that people like you and I chose to either fear, pity, or hate.

Listening to Káede's answer fascinated her. The information flowed through her brain, keeping her interest more than any school lesson ever had. She wasn't even sure if she believed what this woman was telling her, but it proved to not even matter much if she didn't. She was much too drawn into this conversation, accepting every word her savior said and treated it as gospel. Every word, every sentence was analyzed and picked apart, always searching for new questions. And something Káede said snagged her notice.

"People like you and I?"

Káede ignored her question. "Many have been spread out across the world, taking post, saving as many people as they can."

Kagome's eyes widened. "There are more of them?"

"Oh yes, this city is crawling them. It won't be long now." The old woman stood up, and stretched. Kagome could practically hear the old bones creak from the strain. "It was one of the two reasons I came here, to protect the people of this small town. The other reason… well let's just say that it had nothing to do with Carthruts.

Kagome absorbed the information, taking note of everything she said but once again something Káede said intrigued her more than the original explanation. "Won't be long before what?"

Again, Káede ignored her question.

Kagome moaned in annoyance before reaching into her handbag to retrieve her cellular, grumbling all the while. She frowned as she dug through the contents, but her mobile phone was nowhere to be found. She froze as realization struck. She had left it in the alley! Her eyes closed and she whimpered in exhaustion.

_Shit!_

Her annoyance must have shown on her face because Káede soon asked, "Something the matter, child?

Kagome looked up, slight apathy in her blue eyes. "Yes, actually. Could you… get the house phone for me?"

"Whatever for, dear?"

"I need to call Davie Coolidge Animal Hospital."

Káede sighed. "Ah yes, I thought we'd hit that little snag." She over to the windows quickly before drawing the curtains closed.

Kagome looked at the old woman curiously, following her swift movements. _Snag?_

Káede fixed her gaze on the young woman, her expression grave. "I want you to listen to me, child, and I want you to listen closely."

Kagome, still puzzled over her curious behavior, nodded slowly, her expression wary.

"What I am about to tell you is… something that you probably won't believe and I am loathe to tell you at the current situation, but, alas, it cannot be helped." Káede sat down onto the chair, and leaned forward, her knobby elbows supporting her wrinkled face.

"Long ago," Káede continued, "when Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, he expected to find a shortcut to the continent of India. You are familiar with the story, I hope?"

Kagome shook her head up and down. "Yes, of course." She wasn't sure what this had to do with anything, but she listened. She had listened to this woman all night, invited her into her home and allowed her to dress her wounds. It went beyond the fact that she had saved her life. There was something about her that called to her, she didn't know what it was but it made her calm. It made her less fearful of the fact that she had almost died. The fear, the caution, and the confusion, it was all there but she found it easy to ignore il. There was something else going on, something special, something that… that she had been missing, only she didn't know what it was.

Káede nodded in approval. "What he discovered was in fact, the 'New World' as he came to call it. What he didn't know, was that he passed over land that modernist humans still have no clue exists, land that is hidden by illusion, invisible to all eyes that don't belong there." Káede paused to look at the young woman to see her reaction. Finding nothing but understanding in her eyes she continued. "But not just land, different kinds of people walked this land, people capable of the most amazing… and the most terrible of things. These people wondering these mysterious lands were called Sapians."

Maybe it was the fact that Kagome had actually seen the Carthrut with her own eyes, or maybe the shock of the situation had finally worn off but whatever the reason, Kagome felt the first bubble of doubt start to form in the pit of her stomach. "I'm not sure I understand."

The old woman nodded. "Perhaps a physical demonstration is in order." The oldwoman's eyeslooked around before settling on the vase, resting on the countertop. A chunk of the glass relic was placed beside it, showing that it was the one Max had broken the previous night. Gramps was obviously remaining adamant on throwing it away. Káede stood and walked over towards the vase and its broken piece. She looked back at Kagome.

"I must warn you, child. This may prove to be a bit of a shock"

Káede placed her finger on the edge of the broken vase and closed her eyes, concentration marring her features. A white light grew on the tip of her finger, growing in intensity every second. It was as if she had grown a star on her finger. Kagome's jaw could have hit the floor, it dropped so much. It was so bright now that she was forced to look away, but that didn't stop the awe from showing on her face. There was a clinking noise of glass smashing together and for a moment Kagome thought the glass structure had completely shattered. But once the light dissipated and she was able to look at the vase directly again, Kagome did what she thought was impossible… her jaw dropped a bit more.

The vase that had once been missing a chunk of glass at its lip was now untarnished, unblemished and completely intact. Its shape exactly the same as before, no traces of damage anywhere.

Kagome's eyes were the size of dinner plates as her leg slipped off of the chair she was using as a footrest. Some part of her mind — a _very_ small part — registered the pain in her sprained ankle but it didn't show on her face as she stared at the woman who had done nothing short of a miracle. Fleetingly she thought, _This is a dream._

But it wasn't a dream, inside her head she was screaming at herself to wake up. But she didn't, and soon words failed to fail her anymore and the shocked woman finally spoke. "What are you?" Kagome whispered in awe.

Dark brown clashed with deep blue as Káede met the young woman's eyes. "Me?" she said. "I am but a mere tool of some greater force, an instrument whose use on this world has yet to be decided."

"Cut the bullshit and tell me what the _hell_ is going on," she snarled. "What did you _do_?" Things were getting to weird for her tastes, this was something that happened in movies… not in real life.

The old woman chuckled. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer that, child."

The old woman stood her hand flew to her chin, seemingly choosing her words carefully. "There is more to this world than you know," she said. "More than any of us mere humans will ever know. But some humans are more…" she paused and Kagome shifted in her seat nervously. "…knowledgeable than others," the old woman decided. "I am one of those humans."

Kagome's brows furrowed. "You're —?"

"Human?" The old woman smiled. "Yes, of course, child, I am as much human as you and the rest of your family are. But there are different races of humans, just as there are different species of dogs, cats and any other animal you could ever think of." Káede was pacing now, and she noticed that Max's eyes followed her every move carefully, his ears erect and his tail at rest. He had stopped panting and there was a way that he sat unnerved her for some reason.

_It's like he understands what she's saying,_ Kagome thought.

Káede stopped pacing as her eyes saw that the young woman's leg was off of the chair and quickly proceeded to put it back before replacing the ice pack onto her engorged flesh and checked that the warm cloth on her shoulder was doing its job.

"Your wound has ceased bleeding," Káede said calmly as though what she had just done was completely normal, "but we will need to bandage it to prevent infection."

Káede dug into the folds of her shabby robe and withdrew a roll of gauze. "Normally I would have treated it with medicinal herbs," she said, unrolling the gauze with practiced speed. "But I have none of the necessary vegetation at the moment, and your modernistic remedies won't work for a wound such as this."

Kagome, who completely ignored the fact that Káede had referred to her treatments as "modernistic", spoke as Káede knelt down and started to wrap her shoulder. "What do you mean? It's just a normal cut isn't it?"

Káede raised a brow, still wrapping her shoulder tightly. "Normal? Heavens no, it's not even a cut, it's a bite." Seeing Kagome's confused expression she elaborated.

"The Carthruts bit into your flesh and injected a potent, acidic toxin into your bloodstream. This poison eats away at tissue, muscle, bone, organs; basically anything that gets in its way is dissolved. Death can occur in minutes or hours, it depends on how much muscle and tissue the poison has to eat through, but it's nearly _always_ painful."

Kagome's breath caught in her throat. So that was why her shoulder hurt so much every time something touched it, she was poisoned!

Káede finished her job and looked up to see Kagome's whitened face. She smiled reassuringly. "Not to worry child," she said cheerfully. "I purified the poison back in the alley. The pain should be completely gone by sunrise." Káede frowned as she replaced the gauze back into the folds of her robes. "Though I must admit, it is sickening the way they have acquired a taste for human flesh."

The panic on her features was immediately replaced by confusion. "Purified?"

"Yes, it is a unique, though rather useful, ability that we humans possess."

Kagome stared at the old woman, so many questions flowed through her mind, and she couldn't keep up. Fleetingly, she wondered if this woman really _was _insane.

Káede sat down as she continued to speak, "It was a great ambition of your father's to learn the art of Sanctacy."

And just like that, Kagome's interest and trust in this character disappeared with the mention of her father. She was grateful for her rescue, tolerant of her presence in her mother's house. But she had crossed the line with the mention of her long deceased father. The captivation that this woman had held over her was broken, allowing her to come to a sudden, reasonable conclusion.

This woman really _was _crazy!

"Your insane!" she shouted, leaping to her feet. In the corner of her eye she saw Max jump at the sudden change in tone but she didn't care. "Do you mean to tell me that my _father_ was involved in all of this crap? Do you really think that I'd believe that?"

"Not really," Káede admitted. "But such is the way of someone raised in the modernist world."

Kagome's eyes burned with the furious embers that were her rage. She walked to the counter where the house phone was hanging on its hook, trying not to wince as her foot came into contact with the floor. She pointed towards the front door. "Out!" she ordered. "Even if it any of this _is_ true, I don't want any part of it! I almost died today, and I don't plan on going near one of those things again!"

Káede sighed, "Kagome —" she started.

"OUT!" she screamed.

"But you don't have a choice!" Káede said desperately. "Those Carthruts know who and _what_ you are…"

"I'm not _anything_," Kagome growled, growing tired of her crazy claims. She refused to believe that any of this was happening. Maybe it was because it would mean that if any of this were true, then she really didn't know her father. Her long years of studying would have been for naught and she refused to accept that. "I'm a normal twenty-four year old woman who just graduated veterinarian school…"

But Káede was starting to yell too. There overlapping voices reverberated off of the kitchen walls and Max whimpered as his he tried to cover his ears with his paws.

"… They will come looking for you, no matter what you do or do not believe. We _must_ leave this city as soon as possible, for your own safety!"

"…You won't interfere with _my_ life! I'm happy, well-educated, and will someday be successful, and if you don't leave right now I'm calling the police!"

Káede ignored her and kept speaking. "Don't you understand? This animal clinic you were going to isn't even operational anymore! It's controlled by doctors whose families are being threatened by the Carthruts. You were set up!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You should have left," she hissed venomously, her hand reaching for the house phone. But she was stopped when she heard the door open. And the sound of footsteps echoed in the foyer.

"Kagome, are you alright, dear?"

Kagome ceased breathing, her eyes wide and her body frozen as the footsteps grew closer to the kitchen. "We heard shouting, who's in here with --?" Her mother stopped in the threshold of the kitchen, her eyes grew wider and her jaw dropped lower than Kagome's ever had that night.

"Oh… oh my god," she whispered with a mix of fear, astonishment, and something that looked strangely like… happiness? It was the kind of look you give an old friend whom you haven't seen in a very long time, the kind of look you give someone you know. Kagome certainly expected a different reaction as she walked onto the scene of her daughter, profoundly bandaged on her right shoulder and leaning heavily on her left ankle as she glared at a complete stranger dressed in a strange, tattered, black robe.

Káede sighed and turned to face her mother. "Hello, Charlotte," she said pleasantly. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Kagome's eyes widened and they darted towards her mother who did something that made her heartbeat speed up for what felt like the thousandth time that night… Her mother nodded slowly.

Alright, so maybe she wasn't a _complete_ stranger.

* * *

**:Author's Notes:**

_Say hello to Káede everyone! In this fic she'll be playing the part of the wise and powerful elder. So far I'm happy with the way things are turning out in this story, I hope you feel the same. ___

_Remember, if you have any questions at all, just ask, and as always reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_P.S My first Action scene! How'd I do?_

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**Acknowledgements**

_chanda/kokoronagomu/Liesie/Stinkypinker/Haksi/inu-babe/ladydeath31178_

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_**NEXT CHAPTER:**__ A Vague Reality_

_(When reason doesn't give you answers.) _

_**Eyes of Eden**_


	6. A Vague Reality

_**Chapter Four**_

**A VAGUE REALITY**

**Warning:**

_Language and slight sexual reference_

* * *

_**InuYasha had never been **_the kind of person you could call lazy. Even in his juvenile years people expected nothing but efficiency and excellence from his work. Whether it was daily chores or work that the Academy had assigned him, InuYasha Roland always produced results.

Such skills were useful when you lived the life of an outlaw.

The hot sun scorched his bare back as his handmade axe struck the dense log of wood that he was trying to split in half. The crudely carved stone cracked the wood about halfway before becoming stubbornly lodged into what was supposed to be his firewood for later that evening.

"Fucking piece of shit," he grumbled, setting the wooden handle down.

He reached out for the log with one hand, digging his extremely tough claws into the waterlogged lumber. With the other hand he grasped the wooden handle and gave it a ferocious yank. He cursed foully when the axe refused to budge.

Kicking the log off of its stand he plopped down onto the carpet of leaves and twigs roughly. A clawed hand wiped his sweaty forehead, his sensitive nose wrinkling in disgust at the stench of the perspiration coating his body.

_Maybe, a dip in the lake wouldn't be so bad_, he thought reluctantly. He was never one to give up so easily, but the heat was really getting to him. As he contemplated whether or not to take a break, his clawed fingers unconsciously travelled up his neck to grasp the small pendant lying there. He looked down at the beaded necklace and smiled bitterly.

_Ten years_, he thought, _ten years and I still can't get them out of my head._

Images appeared like a slideshow through his mind. Loss, sadness, overwhelming guilt, it was all there in his plagued mind. The sadness crept like bile up his throat and he shook his head, willing his tears back where they belonged — inside of him. He didn't deserve the right to soil this world with his sadness, with his painful memories. He could cry as much as he liked but he would never let the outside world see his tears, ever.

He huffed, deciding that a few moments rest in the soothing cold of the lake couldn't hurt. The leaves crackled beneath his weight as he stood gracefully and proceeded to sprint through the sparsely gapped trees of the forest.

Powerful legs pushed against the ground, urging his body to move faster. The wind swept across his hot face and he closed his eyes gratefully.

Fighting wild animals and — if he was lucky — the occasional Carthrut proved to be much more venting than running did, but seeing as none of which were available to sink his claws into he decided that this short sprint would have to do.

It didn't take long to reach the large body of, cool, clear liquid and he drank from it languidly, knowing his digestive system could handle any unpleasant substances within the water with ease.

He didn't even bother to take off his pants, figuring that it would keep him cooler if they were wet. He lay floating on his back, his ears giving an occasional twitch to any stray sound of the forest.

While the silence was blissful he couldn't deny that he missed the sound of pleasant chatter from family and friends. He longed to hear the jokes and resounding laughter from those he cared for, to see the proud look of his father or the loving smile of his mother, to feel the warmth of a lover beside him as he slept each night.

Granted; his life was purely nomadic, moving every time he got bored of the location, and travelling to another site that fit his needs. This life style sporadically brought him into close contact with villages and he was occasionally graced with the fortune of bedding a woman for the night with no further attachments.

But such actions were only temporary feelings of lust that satiated a hormone-induced need, leading him to just switch locations the first thing the next morning. A quick rut wasn't what he wanted from life. He wanted the satisfaction of his family's presence at his side, the daily beauty of a wife's smile, the soft patter of tiny feet racing through his home, not his house, but his home.

He snorted; it was too late for any of that. Such opportunities were lost ten years ago in the climatic, horrifying, and dreary setting of violent battles in which only bloodshed and loss could ever hoped to be recalled.

This was his life now, a life that was silent, tranquil, languid and easy-going, a life that he was sure to live alone.

--

It was a typical day in the wilderness of this foreign world. A small, wooden hut stood in the middle of a vast clearing, the forest surrounding it like water would a peninsula. The sun shined upon the seemingly endless, green grass that stretched from the clearing all the way to the horizon. The couple who resided here had picked this spot to live strictly because of the view, and truthfully Kagome couldn't blame them. The beauty of this place was worthy of a high-end vacation home. But sightseeing was not on Kagome's mind as she argued lightly with her mother.

"Mom, really I'm fine!"

Thankfully, their hospitality was as extensive as their taste in home locations when they had graciously welcomed Gramps and her mother into their home.

"Are you quite sure, honey? The nights are only going to get colder." Her mother held out the ridiculously heavy wool blanket to her only daughter.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Kagome said for what felt like the thousandth time.

There was a tap on Kagome's shoulder and she turned around to find a patient looking Káede. One gnarled fist held a horse's reins tightly, and her ancient looking walking stick was held by the other. "Child," she said, "the escorts are nearly ready and nightfall is fast approaching. We must make haste."

Kagome nodded, having grown use to her strange way of speaking. "Alright, just a few more minutes, okay?"

The old woman smiled slightly before leading the horse away, her walking stick's impact upon the ground muffled by the soft grass.

Kagome turned back towards her mother with a slight frown on her face. It was because of these escorts that Gramps and her mother had to be left behind. This place, according to Káede, was somewhat of a rest-stop for people who wish to travel from this world — which she still had no idea how they had gotten to — to the world Kagome had left behind. Káede had assured her that they would be safe here but Kagome wasn't convinced.

"_The road ahead is dangerous,"_ Káede had said. _"The escorts are there for protection purposes and six people are much more easily found than four. And we can't afford to be found, Kagome."_

Kagome understood her logic, the faint bruising on her throat could attest to that, but she couldn't say that she was excited about having to go about this strange world with nothing more than complete strangers to keep her company. And Káede still wouldn't tell her why she had to come with them at all. It frustrated her to no end that she had jump into this crazy life with a blindfold on.

When her mother had walked onto the scene of her daughter trying to throw Káede out of the house, her shock was palpable, but it was nothing compared to Kagome's. The fact that her mother knew this strange woman personally was frightening and mind boggling to her. Hasty explanations, a lengthy confession from her mother, further visual evidence of Káede's powers and perhaps a tear or two occupied the short space of only a couple of hours and it all proved to be too much for her.

She passed out on the couch, whether from shock or exhaustion, she didn't know, but something in those few hours she'd slept had changed her mother. She was still the same person, but there was a certain fear in her eyes that made her insides quench uncomfortably every time her mother looked at her. Gramps hadn't changed much — he was too busy jumping in joy about his repaired vase — but her mother certainly had. And whatever had caused it couldn't be good news for her.

Kagome blinked as a sudden pressure encased her and she found her mother embracing her tightly. "Please be careful," she whispered. Her voice trembled as she spoke; wetness on her neck blew the cover of her mother's tears.

Kagome embraced her back, the reality of the situation reared its unwelcome head and Kagome had to bite her lip to hold back her own sorrow. "I will."

"And do _everything_ Káede tells you to!"

"I promise, mom."

An impatient cough broke the tangled pair apart. Gramps eyed them with a disapproving face. Kagome walked past her mother to approach her grandfather. "You take care of yourself, you hear me?" he said gruffly.

Kagome nodded, knowing that Gramps was truly concerned despite his tone.

Gramps grunted in approval as Káede suddenly spoke from afar. "Ah, Sesshoumaru. You are ready to depart then?

She looked back to see a tall figure rove gracefully out of the wood. So graceful that it looked as though he were gliding across the pasture rather than actually taking the time to walk. He had an unresponsive air about him, but he was what you could call beautiful in an almost feminine way. Light gray hair that, like Káede, didn't seem to be influenced by age, dangled past his shoulders like fine silk. Dignified features held an immovable expression of indifference, as his calculating green eyes stared at the old woman. They were void of emotion although not necessarily cold, but that didn't stop Kagome from wondering if he ever smiled.

"I am," he said flatly. Even his voice lacked any hint of passion.

The old woman nodded and went back to packing some last minute things into the knapsack dangling from her horse's saddle. The man, who she assumed was called Sesshoumaru, cast his blank gaze to Kagome, his green eyes quickly taking notice of her attire.

She had to fight the blush that threatened to color her cheeks a dark shade of pink. Her short green skirt and form-fitting, white t-shirt was extremely different — not to mention, more revealing — from what he and Káede wore.

This man wore a floor length, skin-colored robe. The robe was open, but kept in place by a white sash, leaving the bottom half to blow freely in the wind. Another robe, shorter and white, covered his chest and was tucked into the same colored silk pants. Two samurai swords strapped to either hip told her this must be one of escorts.

His majestic poise reeked of power, commanded respect and Kagome couldn't help but reluctantly give it to him as he approached her with a grace no earth-dweller had the right to possess.

"Woman," he said almost degradingly. "What are these absurd garments you bear?"

It was amazing how fast respect could disappear.

Her blue eyes clashed with his green ones as a familiar anger welled up inside of her. "Just because I dress differently than you, doesn't make me less of a person, you jerk!" she shouted.

He didn't even blink at her outburst and his lack of reaction only made her angrier. "Your scent," he said slowly, his voice was the only betrayal of his interest. "It's familiar… yet…" he stopped and his mouth upturned in the slightest hint of a smile, looking as though he had realized something. "A modernist," he said. "How amusing."

Kagome groaned in aggrKagometion and shouldered past him, with admittedly more force than was needed, to talk to Káede, anything to get away from this seemingly narcissistic man.

Who was he to talk down to her like that? So what if she wore these clothes? It was really hot here, damn it! He acted like he was somehow better than her when he didn't even know her, not to mention this "modernist" stuff was starting to get old _very_ quickly.

Her mind was still ranting on about Sesshoumaru's lack of consideration as she approached Káede, who was still checking and rechecking the contents she had packed. Before she could even get close enough to alert the old woman to her presence, Káede spoke. "Dear, if Sesshoumaru is irritating you, why not assist the other escort in the stable? I believe you'll find her much more accommodating."

Kagome's mouth felt her jaw slacken and drop. How did she know she was there? Her back was turned and she was more than ten feet away! Her body was still frozen in its stupor as Káede turned to look at her, the last rays of the sun shined directly on the old woman's face, causing her to squint. The burn on her left eye, which was already eternally narrowed, caused it to go down further than her right one. The resulting expression somewhat reflected a wink.

"Try not to dawdle, child," she said. "We really must get going soon." Káede turned back to the sack she was checking.

Kagome shook her head, coming forcefully out of her brief state of shock. She nodded and hurried to the brown stable that resided on the outskirts of the clearing. She got to the barn and knocked twice on the wooden doors, slightly confused as to why it was closed in the first place.

There was a sound of clattering metal and slight disorientation. She could hear two horses neigh loudly as an irate voice called out, "I thought I told you people that there was Council privacy needed while I was in here? How many times do I have to tell you…? Oh, hello." The door opened a few inches to reveal a kind, yet suspicious, looking face of a brown eyed woman.

Kagome held her hand up slightly in a nervous gesture of salutation. "Uh… hi," she said uncertainly. "Um… Káede asked me to come and help you with the horses?"

"Oh, you must be Kagome," she said. The woman suddenly smiled, all traces of suspicion disappeared from her face. She opened the door a bit wider and stood aside. "Come on in, but quickly, we don't want them to see."

"How do you know my name?" she asked as she slipped inside the barn, puzzled by the need of secrecy.

The woman shut the door firmly, encasing them in the smell of hay, rotting wood, and the horse's waste. The only sources of light were the small oil lanterns spaced evenly throughout the barn. "Káede had a little talk with me and Sesshoumaru the minute you guys arrived."

Kagome's anger at Sesshoumaru rekindled as she remembered distinctly that he had called her "woman". Before she could stop herself, she shouted, "That jerk knew my name?"

The woman snorted. "I can tell you've already met Sesshoumaru." She extended her hand. "Sango Polmeroy," she said pleasantly.

Kagome smiled and took her hand. "Pleasure," she replied, thinking to herself that Káede had been right about her after all. Sango had long brown hair that trickled down her back, brown eyes held confidence and tenacity as femininely lean muscles bunched in alluring legs that poked out of a simple, white travelling dress.

"So," Kagome said curiously, "why all the secrecy?"

Sango laughed. "Oh, it's no biggie," she giggled. "The owners of this place just don't like weapons too much." She pointed towards a small pile of lethal looking weapons, two of which lay haphazardly apart from the pile, looking as though they had been dropped and Kagome now knew what the metallic clanging was. She noticed that one of the horses was already sporting some of the deadly iron in a specialized looking pack. The horse seemed to be tremendously uncomfortable. His back legs kicked the hay furiously sending it into the other pens; the horse's occupying them snorted their annoyance.

"Bucky, please calm down!" Sango shouted, rushing over to try and soothe the troubled animal. Needless to say, her efforts were in vain. She looked over at Kagome wearily. "He's never been like this," she shouted over his insistent neighing. "It wasn't until we got these," she pointed towards the straps that held the bag for the weaponry, "that this shit started to happen."

Four years of veterinarian school suddenly took over as Kagome's clinically trained eye examined in the restless creature from afar, immediately spotting the problem.

"Well of course he's acting up, look." She walked steadily towards the horse and calmly reached up and firmly grasped two of the ridiculously tight straps that rested just behind his pointed ears. "These straps are squeezing right down on his poll." She moved the straps down a bit and the effect was immediate. The horse stopped kicking, and his neighs quieted down to mere annoyed snorts.

Kagome looked at a stunned Sango and smiled. "There you go," she said pleasantly.

Sango chuckled and shoved a double edged axe into the already stuffed bag of metal. "You and I are going to get along just fine."

The saddling of the other horse proved to not be as hard as Kagome thought, but her other tantalizing discovery she made in that stuffy barn mattered a lot more. She found that there was at least _one_ normal person in this strange world. They laughed and indulged in light hearted conversation as they put the leftover weaponry beneath a hidden trap door, so the owners of the clearing wouldn't find it. Kagome was just starting to bring the baggage horse — the one carrying Sango's mini arsenal — out of the barn when she heard it.

"GET OUT OF MY _BED_, YOU DAMN MUTT!"

Kagome groaned. "Oh, not again."

"What?" asked a bewildered Sango. "What happened?"

The young woman muttered under her breath about impish canines as she handed the artillery horse's reins to Sango. "Max," she replied, marching in the direction of the hut.

Sango took the reins hastily, anxious to see what all the commotion was all about. "Who's Max?"

The pair arrived on the scene just in time to see Gramps stomp out of the hut, the hosting couple behind him furiously apologizing for letting the mischievous canine into his room.

"That stupid mutt left a little _going away_ present on my pillow," the old man shouted, holding a hand up in front of everyone's face, to which they backed away from like two magnets of the same charge, more specifically from the horrible smelling brown spot that was staining the wrinkled appendage.

Her mother shook her head. "Oh, dear."

Kagome asked the couple in the threshold of the door for a wet rag.

Sango snorted in laughter.

Her mistake was realized when no one seemed to be relishing in the hilarity of the situation. She coughed a few times, to try and cover it up but the deed was done. "You think it's funny, do you?" growled an enraged looking Gramps.

Sango gulped nervously "Well it sort of is, isn't it?" she said, desperately trying to legitimize her actions. "Isn't it?" Sango was saved from her repercussions as the culprit of the whole mess finally decided to make his grand entrance.

A full grown, gray wolf bounded out of the door — followed closely by the couple who had retrieved the wet rag for Gramps — and stopped at his best friend's feet, his tail wagging furiously, his head cocked to the side with one ear up and the other down.

Gramps took the rag with a gruff thank you and proceeded to scrub the soiled essence from his hand. "You know," he said as he bunched the rag together, trying to arrange it in a way that didn't put the foul substance back on his hand, "I thought wolves were supposed to be known for their honor and dignity, _not_ for their annoying talent of pissing me off!"

She remembered that following morning when Káede had insisted that they leave right away and to her surprise, her mother had agreed immediately.

They hadn't given her time to ask many questions, only enough to pack a few belongings, which included nothing more than a few change of clothes, basic hygienic supplies, and her father's diary, but she had been adamant about leaving Max behind. She fiercely insisted on bringing him, no matter what it took.

She was quite taken aback when Káede had said that she hadn't intended to leave him behind at all. When Kagome had questioned what she meant, Káede told Max to "reveal" himself.

After getting over the shock that her adorable, sweet, lovable Labrador was actually a huge, sharp-toothed wolf, she realized that Max really hadn't changed at all. His appearance may have been different but he was the same lovable, smart, and downright mischievous canine as before. This moment here was proof of that.

The sound of hooves against the soft ground told Kagome that it was time to go. She turned around to see Káede sitting with a surprising amount of grace on her horse's saddle. In the distance she could see Sesshoumaru waiting for them atop his own horse.

"Ready?" the old woman asked.

Sango nodded and hurriedly straddled her horse, eager to get away before Gramps remembered who he was mad at.

"Now hold on!" Gramps said suspiciously. "Just how do I know that these "escorts" of yours are capable of protecting my granddaughter?"

Káede raised a brow. "Sesshoumaru, the young man off in the distance, is quite possibly the most talented dueler our Academy has ever seen. And Sango here is one of the most accomplished assassins we have at our disposal. Do not doubt that I have just as much at stake as you do."

There was a nudge on Kagome's shoulder and she looked up to see Sango's outstretched hand. "What?"

Sango grinned. "Well you can't very well ride by yourself, now can you?"

Kagome bit her lip nervously and took her hand, clambering onto the saddle with nowhere near as much grace as the other three.

There was the feeling that something was being forced into her fist and she looked down to see a brown, leather bracelet with an assortment of strange charms fastened to it in her hand. She glanced down her mother's hand that was still holding her own. She was crying again.

"It belonged to your father," she explained shakily. "It's not much, but I…"

Kagome smiled and fastened the bracelet around her wrist automatically. "I'll never take it off," she assured her mother.

Káede cleared her throat. "Well, Charlotte, it was lovely to see you again."

Her mother smiled, wiping the wetness from her face. "Yes, it was lovely to see you too, Káede." she replied.

"Until next time, my old friend," said Káede as she started to turn her horse towards the sunset.

Her mother nodded. "Yes, until next time."

"Oi!" Gramps yelled. "See if you can abandon that fleabag in a ditch somewhere!"

Max responded by lifting his leg over a bare calf, sickly marking his territory. Gramps screeched in fury but the wolf had already taken off into the sunset, his tail wagging high as he howled in triumph that he had gotten the last word. Kagome couldn't help but laugh.

She laughed so hard, her heels accidentally dug into the sides of the horse beneath her and it jolted into action, sprinting after the canine, followed soon after by the baggage horse and Káede's. Kagome swore she heard Sesshoumaru snort as she passed him. He too, followed the group, his silver hair and the bottom half of his pale robe gliding behind him.

Sango quickly recovered from the slight surprise of the early takeoff and steered the horse in the right direction. She noticed from the corner of her eye that Max was slowing down to run alongside her.

She looked back at the life she had left behind, her mother was still waving and Gramps' faint shouts could still heard. She turned to the one reminder that life she had as he ran gracefully, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, matching the horse stride for stride. Max looked up at her and she swore that he winked a mischievous eye as he proceeded to pull slightly ahead of the horse, being careful to stay with the group.

As the wind splashed across her face, Kagome smiled and it was in that moment that she realized something. Now that the revelation was made she was astounded that she hadn't noticed it before, shocked to discover that this change within her had been apparent since the moment she looked into the red eyes of a Carthrut in that dingy alleyway.

That feeling, the feeling that she wasn't where she belonged, that she should be out doing other things, she realized in that moment for the first time in her life, that feeling had disappeared.

* * *

**:Author's Notes:**

_Three new characters for ya to enjoy. Inuyasha makes his presence as a hot-headed, emotion hiding, and honorable warrior. Sango's being that spunky, fiery, and battle ready woman, and Sesshoumaru… well he's just being Sesshoumaru._

_Keep in mind people, that this IS an original story, these characters all may be a bit different from there Anime/Manga counterparts. The biggest physical difference will probably prove to be Inuyasha._

_Once again, to all who reviewed, thank you, and don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have._

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**Acknowledgements**

_chanda/kokoronagomu/Liesie/Stinkypinker/Haksi/inu-babe/ladydeath31178/pokiepal_

_**Special shout out to chanda, thank you for the reviews and patience.**_

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_**NEXT CHAPTER:**__ The Lost Warrior_

_(To all who are missing Inuyasha's testosterone I have one thing to say to you… "Keh!") _

_**Eyes of Eden**_


	7. Fear Thy Fate, Fear Thy Past

_**Chapter Five**_

**FEAR THY FATE, FEAR THY PAST**

**Warning:**

_Language, violence, and gore._

* * *

_**It had been three days since the group **_had left Charlotte and Gramps at the hut with the old couple and though Kagomemissed them deeply, she knew that it was for the best. In their absence, Kagome had thought that the lack of familiarity with these people would make the journey extremely awkward, but to her surprise, Sango had done everything in her power to make her as comfortable as possible.

The more Kagometalked to Sango the more she liked her, and was relieved to find that the feeling was actually mutual. It was a comforting feeling to know that you had a friend to talk to in this strange and unfamiliar world.

Accommodation was not the only thing that had come within the past three days since they had left the clearing. With every minute that went by, every conversation that was sparked during long hours of travelling, she learned more and more about this strange world and where they were headed.

While Kagome didn't so much interrogate Sango like she really wanted to, she found that listening to the conversations between her and Káede as well as asking the occasional question here and there proved to be just as effective.

While she had not been told in so many words, she knew for a fact that Sango and Káede frequently referred to themselves as Sapians. As in her world these 'Sapians' were classified by race, but that was where the certainties ended.

Certainties, however, were a luxury that she had to learn to be without for now. As it was, guesswork would have to suffice.

What she could infer was that Pathrans had an uncanny likeness with felines. And Canans had a parallel connection to canines. She would even go so far as to guess that these people had similar genus breakdown, but that was only a theory. What troubled her deeply was that they talked like these Canans and Pathrans were products of evolution — if Káede's talk of Sesshoumaru's "profound sense of smell" was any indication.

Being a vet student, she knew that Humans and apes did have a close likeness in their anatomy and many other things and while she had labeled the theory of evolution as extremely possible, this was getting a bit too extreme for her.

Then again, she had seen more than enough proof of it and couldn't deny the close similarity between Sesshoumaru — who Sango had identified as Canan — and Max.

They both had claws, sharp canine teeth, they never seemed to get tired, andKagomehad even seen him demonstrate a profound sense of smell numerous times.

She even realized that the Carthrid in the alley had showed numerous feline traits, such as the long, sharp claws, the pointed teeth, even the way it moved reeked of feline heritage. But still, she had a hard time believing any of it, logic dictated two separate things.

Her common sense argued; how could canines and felines have possibly evolved into human forms? But then, reason reminded her that she had seen the proof several times and she had no evidence to _dis_prove it.

While common sense clashed violently with reason, it seemed that logic was pulling itself apart by the seams. It was all so confusing, it hurt her head and she tried not it think about it too much, but that never seemed to work.

"The Pathrans and Canans have been at war for as long as most people can remember," Sango was saying to Kagomeas Káede stoked the roaring fire with her walking stick, which seemed oddly resilient to the flames. "If the historians have it right — which I don't think they do — fights between the two used to be just silly family feuds and harmless displays of strength or pride…"

Sango frowned. "But then something happened… something made the Pathrans angry and resentful of us and they just started rampaging. For a hundred years people have been trying to figure out what caused their brash anger, but no one has been able to quite figure it out."

The three women sat around the fire pit in a small clearing of the woods, reins tied tightly to a lone tree ensured that the horses remained stationary for the night. Everyone's stomach was audibly growling as they waited for Sesshoumaru and Max to return with dinner.

"The question is not what," said Káede, "but whom." The sounds of her stick poking the burning logs seemed dull compared to the crackling of the fire.

Sango closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as though she had a bad headache. "You've been saying that for years, Káede," she said. "But you and I both know that the Pathrans are too solitary of a people to be controlled by a single person. They stick to themselves and are about as close to anarchy as you can get without completely losing control of the middle class."

Káede didn't even look up from the fire. "They have a Council just as we do," she said simply. It seemed that she was playing with the logs in a fit of boredom rather than actually tending to the state of the flames.

"So a bunch of people just up and said, hey, let's go and desecrate a couple hundred defenseless villages?" Sango countered sarcastically. "It was in the middle of the Stamen age, Káede. That's when our relationships with the Pathrans were best. They had to have had a reason for doing what they did. Their council wouldn't have just suddenly decided to take up arms against us; we were just as powerful as they were!"

The old woman finally looked up. "You would be rather surprised by what fear can accomplish."

"You've been saying that too, but I still don't think fear is enough to destroy thousands, maybe millions, of lives."

The old woman just stared at her calmly, saying nothing.

Kagome watched the pair argue, silently, absorbing every iota of information that she could. Her behavior and tenacity to find the answers to the millions of questions in her head surprised her almost as much as the answers themselves. She couldn't explain it, nor could she identify the feeling that drove her. She just somehow _knew_ that this was what she should be doing, that this was where she was supposed to be.

Sango's head slumped, but the determination still burned in her eyes like the fire mere feet away from her. "No…" she said, shaking her head slowly. "Whatever caused their sudden rage, it wasn't a tyrannical leader. Something else happened that we're just not seeing, something that they don't want us to know."

A snort from behind the encircled trio broke the tension and made them turn their heads to see Sesshoumaru striding gracefully out of the woods with Max at his side and two recently cleaned hares slung over his shoulder. The wolf playfully snapped at the horse's hooves, trying to get them to play with him. But when they kept backing away warily, he gave up and picked up the small beaver he had caught for himself and joined Kagome by the fire.

Sesshoumaru hurled the skinned hares down onto the forest floor before bending down to prepare the seasoning that Káede had laid out for him. Kagome thought that despite his callous demeanor towards others, he really wasn't such a bad guy.

"Does it really matter?" he said flatly as he crushed the small clippings between his fingers. "They attacked us and we fought back. We will fight them until we either win or we die." He worked his nimble fingers around the hare and placed it on a large skewer to go over the fire.

He had said it so simply, as though there was no other way around the bloodshed, as though it were something that everyone should get used to. "Surely it won't come down to that?" Kagome said cagily, as though scared of the reaction she might get. "What about peace treaties or negotiations?"

"We tried all of that when they first started attacking us," said Káede. "But every time we send a messenger to their lands, they never return."

Kagomewidened her eyes and was quite taken aback for a few silent moments. A quiet "Oh." was all she could say in response.

It all just seemed so barbaric to her. How could people just kill without reason or motive? Surely peace was always held over violence, even in this world?

Káede smiled bitterly, as though reading her mind. "Truth is a very fickle friend, child," she said sadly. "So many people say that they want the truth, but when they get it they will often wish they never even asked for it in the first place."

The old woman had a weary look in her eye and as she continued her lecture,as if she had experienced the lesson she was currently trying to teach personally. "The truth is, child… none of us want to fight. None of us ever wanted to see the things we have seen, but we have and the only way to stop it is to fight and, unfortunately, kill."

The old woman looked at Kagome intently, the slight weariness now replaced with fierce significance. "I tell you this, child, because it is imminent that you _will_ see death, before this journey is over."

Káede looked away and what she said next made Kagome's skin crawl. "I tell you this… because I cannot even guarantee _your_ survival by this journey's end."

Now she knew why her expression was so grave. Kagome could practically feel her skin turn white as she stuttered, "But you… you said that I'd be safer here."

Káede nodded. "So I did, and I did not lie. The people here know what they are up against, and are more adequately prepared to protect you. But that does not mean we can completely guarantee your safety." The weariness returned to the old woman's eyes. "We cannot guarantee _anyone's_ safety anymore."

Everyone was silent as the faint crackle of the fire danced over the hares, cooking the raw meat. Kagome didn't even feel Max nudging her chin, trying to get her to look at him. She was too busy replaying the old woman's words inside her head.

Death wasn't unfamiliar to her. She had visited plenty of animal hospitals while in Vet school, took witness to a number of emergency procedures where the animal didn't make it. But this… this was different. This was concerning not only outright slaughter but her very life.

As Sesshoumaru speared the second hare, Kagomereluctantly winced. She really hated when he cleaned and prepared the meat. The first time he had done it — Káede was kind enough to clean the meat that Max had caught inside the forest — she had screamed. It wasn't that she shied away from blood (she _had_ gone to Vet school after all) it was just the utter horror of reality shoved so plainly before her eyes that disturbed her so. It was the grisly proof of what sometimes had to be done to survive. The realization that she wasn't completely at ease with the idea of such necessary killing and hunting brought a very sinister thought to mind.

If she couldn't stand seeing a wild animal gutted and cleaned then how in the world was she supposed to be able to see someone die before her eyes? How was she supposed to survive if the best she could do while camping was gather water and logs?

_But you've seen and cheated death,_ she thought, contradicting herself. _You fought that Carthrid in the alley and hurt him enough to at least get him angry. And _Káede_ killed it right in front of you, remember?_

She shook her head. That was different. She was on the verge of death so it was pretty much kill or be killed, wasn't it? Besides she hadn't even seen the Carthrid die. As for her defending herself… that was some burst of adrenaline that wasn't likely to ever work again. In fact it hadn't even really worked the last time.

As she thought this, her fingers brushed unconsciously against the almost invisible bruises on her throat.

Kagome argued with herself all through dinner, letting the hare on her personal skewer grow cold.

What had happened to her? She had been on the verge of a great career in animal doctoring and she just threw it all away the moment another opportunity — if you could call it that — had presented itself. How could she do that? Why was she so fixated about what this world had to offer her? And when she found that one of the only things it _did_ have to offer was death or murder, why did she find herself more and more intrigued? It was sick, it was implausible, and it was driving her utterly crazy.

_What's happening to me?_

Kagomelooked at the hare meat in front of her and grimaced. She gave the skewer to Max, who had just polished off the small beaver he had caught himself, and watched him devour the meat. She didn't even really mind if he ate the whole thing.

She wasn't very hungry anymore.

* * *

He could smell them.

It was a scent he had learned to remember, an aroma that sent his body and mind straight into kill mode. It was remarkably similar to the stench of burning plastic mixed with blood, recognizable anywhere and enough to make him sick on the spot.

InuYasha felt his blood boil; silver eyes seemed to glow with fury in the darkness of his shelter. He ran a hand through his long mane of dark hair, almost invisible in the shadows of the cave, and tried to control his anger.

It was easy to get angry. When you live alone, constantly on the move, it was easier to lash out in rage than smiling and trying to look for the silver lining in things. He used to try to find that elusive line, he tried to smile. But neither the smile nor the silver lining ever graced his presence, and eventually he stopped looking, he stopped trying.

He wasn't proud of it, he hated giving up. It was one of the things he prided himself on and he didn't pride himself on much. What the hell would his father say if he knew he had given up on something?

He turned over on the bed of branches and grass and tried to shut out the infuriating scent. The anger within him was practically screaming at him to kill the scent's source which was at the center of so much pain and suffering.

But he couldn't. He wanted to — dammit he wanted to! — But what if he lost control again? He knew that Human villages weren't far from here, what if he went on a rampage and killed even more people this time? It was too risky to even consider.

The smells grew closer and InuYasha closed his eyes, trying to breathe in through his mouth, but the scent was too tantalizing, too etched into his memory for him to ignore and before he could stop himself, he was breathing completely through his nose.

InuYasha glared as his clawed hand shot to the sapphire robe he had thrown to the ground the previous night. Not even bothering to tie it shut, he raced out of the cave, his silver eyes automatically adjusting to the pink light of dawn.

The anger… so much of it… too much… his heart pounded, he was starting to see red… it was taking hold… he wasn't sure if he even wanted to stop it anymore… he closed his eyes, surrendering to the beast inside of him….

And then he smelled it. It was like nothing he had ever smelled before, a heady scent of apple mixed deliciously with vanilla and just a hint of an herbal spice he couldn't quite identify tickled his nose. This scent grabbed his interest and he felt his anger, while not dissipating, release its iron grip.

_That's no Carthrid._

He sniffed the air again. This scent was that of a Human, most likely female. Sifting through the retched stench of Carthrid with great difficulty, he frowned. Their scents were in dangerous proximity with one another…. they were going to kill this Human.

His ears twitched beneath his mane of black hair as the shrieking sound of an eagle reached them. His legs stopped working as the most bizarre scene presented itself from behind a thick brush.

_What the hell?_

He found himself in a small pathway of what looked like birch trees. A young woman was on the ground staring at a large Golden Eagle that was busy poking the hell out of a Carthrid that had obviously moved in for the kill. The red-eyed beast screamed —and with good reason — bloody murder as the majestic bird raked its deadly talons across its face.

But another one of them had pushed passed its companion under siege and made a beeline for the girl.

InuYasha swore violently and rushed out to try to save the girl, but it was too late. He was too far away… he wasn't going to make it… His ears were filled with only the girl's terrified screech.

* * *

The next morning Kagome awoke with an extremely sore back and something wet brushing against her face. She grimaced as she sat up stiffly, squinting in the pink light of dawn. Max's brown eyes wished her a good morning before he turned away towards the horses. The mischievous wolf had found a way of getting them to tangle themselves around the trees by scaring them over and over again the previous night.

She winced at the thought of another eight hours on the bumpy road with a sore back. While riding a horse beat walking, this form of travel had its downside as well, especially when you've spent a full night sleeping with rocks and sticks poking into your back.

"Stupid sleeping bags," she mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning, child. Breakfast is almost ready."

She turned her head towards the fire circle to see Sango and Káede smiling at her, the left over hare meat on small skewers reheating next to the fire from the previous cold night.

Kagome yawned. Her arms rose high into the air as she returned their good morning as well as she could while yawning.

Glancing around the camp she noticed a vacancy in the group. "Hey," she said. "Where's Sesshoumaru?"

Sango's face suddenly turned sour, her eyes held tremendous annoyance as she visibly fought a sizeable yawn. "He's _bathing_," she said, emphasizing the word 'bathing' rather venomously.

Travelling all day in stranger's company made things like bathing and changing clothes a rare luxury that she had not yet had the privilege of experiencing. Kagomefrowned. "I didn't know there was a lake nearby."

"Neither did we," Sango grumbled, it was obvious that she was suffering in the exact same way.

Feeling thirsty, Kagomedove for her personal backpack and dug through the contents to find her water bottles. She frowned when each one of them was empty. Her annoyance towards Sesshoumaru increased rather dramatically.

Káede chuckled at the discontent on Kagome's face. "Sesshoumaru shall be finished soon, child. Come sit with us while we await his return."

Kagomenodded sleepily and sat down next to Sango.

"It better be a _good_ bath," Sango rambled on, "because it's going to come with a heavy price."

Káede chuckled. "I always knew that your job would twist your once kind nature into violent, unjustifiable rage."

"No, I've always been this way," Sango disagreed. "The only thing my job had to do with it was make it easier for me to show."

"What do you do?" Kagomeasked, intrigued.

"I'm an assassin, a silent, deadly, warrior trained to go behind enemy lines and single-handedly eliminate the big targets such as generals and Baruhns."

"Baruhns?"

"They are ferocious, elephant-like felines that are bred to do nothing but viciously kill the opposition," said Káede. "They're a rather new species that were introduced just after the first couple hundred villages were destroyed all those years ago."

"Sort of like the Carthrids?"

Káede nodded. "Exactly like the Carthrids, with the lone exceptions that Baruhns aren't used for fodder and are a bit more intelligent."

Kagome pictured in her mind a huge tiger the size of an elephant swiping dozens of soldiers several feet in the air with its enormous claws. She looked at Sango.

She was always so nice, and helpful. Sure she was a bit fiery, but what woman wasn't? It was hard to believe that this woman, who had talked to her like her friends had back in Georgia, could take down something as monstrous as the creature they had described. It was even harder to believe that such a beast existed in this seemingly tranquil world.

Suddenly Káede spoke, the grave tone broke the easy-going spell as the old woman's tone put shivers through her spine. "Sango I want you to listen to me very carefully."

Kagome was snapped out of her thoughts by the grave voice and she looked at the old woman warily. The old woman had her head down; her wrinkled hands gripped her walking stick tightly and she looked extremely worried.

"Why, what's wrong Káede?" asked Sango, who looked just as confused as Kagome did.

"I want you to walk _discreetly_ over to the baggage horse and get the weapons pack."

"Why?"

"We are surrounded."

Sango nodded and Kagomegasped.

Sango stood slowly and walked over to the horses, trying not to be suspicious. Beside Kagome, a low growling could be heard and she glanced beside her to see that Max looked just as uneasy as Káede, his eyes were narrow, teeth bared and hair on end.

"Kagome."

She directed her attention once more to the old woman, her expression, she was sure, terrified. It was only the third time Káede had ever used her name. She had grown to think that she only used her name in potentially dire situations.

"Do not be afraid," she said. "It will take more than petty Carthrids to kill Sango and myself."

Kagome tried to nod but it was halfhearted at best. Káede took note of it and smiled.

"Fear is the only weapon they have that could possibly kill us. If you learn to conquer it, it cannot hurt you."

Sango came back with the heavy bag thrown over her shoulder which she set down roughly. "Of _all_ the times for Sesshoumaru to take a bath it _had_ to be when we're about to be ambushed," she said in the same hushed tone that Káede had.

The assassin buried her hand into the bag and drew out a small knife. "Here," she said, sliding it across the ground towards Kagomeso as not to be conspicuous."Drop your bottle and pick that up, we can't let them suspect we know they're here."

Kagomedid as she was told and picked up the knife, setting it in her lap she looked at Sango her visage asking, 'now what?'

But Sango was already digging through the bag again, "Just pray that you won't need to use that." She pulled out a couple short knives and two longer ones and slid them over to Káede, who bent and pretended to scratch her ankles so as to pick up the knives. She slid them into her one of the many folds of her black robe and sat back up, appearing calm and above suspicion.

"Why haven't they attacked us yet?" Kagome asked shakily.

"It is in their nature," said Káede who was now rubbing her walking stick slowly with a knobby thumb, "and let's face it, Carthrids aren't exactly the smartest creatures in the world."

Sango looked up at Káede, her face set and determined. "I'm ready."

Káede nodded. "Kagome, when Sango moves I want you to get directly behind me and grab onto to the back of my hood. Do you understand?"

"But why —?"

But Káede interrupted. "Do you understand?"

Kagome's mind was numb. The conversation from the previous night came back to her and the feeling inside of her wasn't what she expected. For some reason, she didn't want to hide behind Káede; she wanted to fight these people who were trying to ambush them. She didn't just want to fight… but to kill.

The feeling horrified her and in the end that was what probably convinced her to listen to the wise, elderly woman. She nodded silently.

And with that Sango moved.

She moved so quickly that she knew that no one could have had the chance to ever react in time. One of her hands shot out of the bag to reveal two bladed boomerangs and they both left her hands with grace that told Kagomewhy she was an assassin. Dual cries of pain told her that they had hit their mark and with speed that could only be defined as adrenaline Kagome found herself behind Káede's back and gripping her robe with one hand, the small knife in the other.

Káede, who had stood up a split-second after Sango had moved, shouted into the dense thicket. "You there, vile Carthrids! Show your cowardly faces! Face us and fight with honor!"

A wicked chuckle echoed itself around the clearing and they came out of the shadows. Their red eyes showing themselves first, then their tattered clothing and finally their blood-stained teeth that boasted themselves in an evil smirk. They came out from all around circling the huddled trio as if they were stalking prey. Their mad, high-pitched giggling reverberated around them as they shifted around them. In the low light of the dawn, it was a truly terrifying sight. She counted sixteen of them.

"Give us the girl," one of them said in the same gravelly tone as the one back at the alley, pointing at Kagome, "and you shall not be killed."

"Somehow I have difficulty believing you," replied Káede coolly, her eyes trained on each one of them in turn as they rotated around them. Kagomefelt the reassuring warmth of Max's wolf on her side as the huge canine growled, but still, she was wary.

One of the Carthrids decided to take a dive for the old woman, trying to take them by surprise but Káede was too quick and the walking stick bashed the creature's head in, knocking him unconscious.

Many of the Carthrids backed away a bit from the old woman but one stepped closer. "Ohoho, so the old hag knows how to play!"

Kagomeduly noted that this one was female. The she-Carthrid danced in a restless manner, hopping from side to side. "C'mon, old hag!" it said crazily. "Come and play with me, come and play with me!"

Káede ignored the she-Carthrid's taunts focusing, instead on each of the revolving madmen, searching for a weakness.

With suddenness that proved instability another one of them screamed so loudly that Kagome jumped in surprise. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Without warning a Carthrid near the front leapt at Sango, insane eyes held only the desire to take her life. It stretched its claws out, reaching for the twisted satisfaction of another bloody murder shouting "KILL, KILL, KILL!"

The beast's rant was cut short by a loud squeal as Sango let loose another boomerang. Its bladed edge cut deeply into its side, ripping open its stomach. The Carthrid met the ground face-first, its blood staining the mixture of soil and leaves a sickening red.

It was either the sight of another fallen comrade or the sight of its blood that caused the semi-docility of the remaining Carthrid's to come to a violent end. The Carthrids showed their instability as they all charged at the same time, knocking over one another to get to their victims first.

When the first of the Carthrids reached them, it went for Kagome. It snarled with madness dancing like mirth in its crimson orbs.

But Káede anticipated the attack and raised her walking stick as high as her stunted body would allow her to reach. There was a bright light and Kagomefelt as though the air around her were pressing in on her from all directions. She gasped as a transparent, blue sheen encased her body protectively. The Carthrid let out a surprised yelp and slammed into the barrier, only to have its bared neck meet Max's sharp teeth.

_So that's what the stick is for!_ she thought despite herself.

The next Carthrid reached the group and met a quick end as Sango dug a bladed boomerang deep into its open, screaming mouth. Blood spurted as she wrenched the deadly weapon out of its mouth and quickly let it fly towards the onslaught of bloodthirsty monsters. The bloody boomerang lodged itself in the side of another Carthrid's head, reducing the count to twelve.

Káede proved her own skill and let two short knives soar through the air and struck gold as two more Carthrids fell to their knees. Anyone who got too close was met by either a face full of walking stick or the sharp edge of a long knife. The grace she possessed while fighting was an amazing contrast to her usual demeanor and Kagome resolved from then on to give her more respect.

As Káede and Sango fought, several Carthrids either seemed too injured to fight, or had gotten trampled in their companions rush to taste the bloody kill. They all met a gruesome death by the hand of Max's powerful jaws.

Kagomewatched in slight awe and tremendous horror of the bloodshed. No movie that she had ever seen depicted such ghastly images. As she watched Max sink his long fangs deeply into an unfortunate Carthrid's neck she suddenly knew why some soldiers needed therapy after coming back from war.

One of the red-eyed monsters got a chance to aim a kick at the wolf. Max yelped in pain as a foot violently connected with the side of his head, the Carthrids clawed toes raked a deep cut dangerously close to his right eye.

The sound of Max's cry shook something within Kagome to the very foundations. Her heart pounded with fury that she had never known and she swore that her own eyes could have turned red when the disgusting freak reached out to finish him off.

What Kagome did next was very brave, very honorable, and _very_ stupid. Not even really thinking about what she was doing, she stepped out of the barrier and let out a blood-curdling scream as she dived for the Carthrid aiming to take Max's life.

Amazingly — and luckily — she had done the right thing in charging blade-first. The scream distracted the Carthrid as it looked over its shoulder, delaying Max's time of death. Ignoring the sounds of Káede yelling at her to stop Kagome kept running. A force that both terrified and amazed her was running through her blood as she drove the sharp dagger to the hilt into the Carthrid's unprotected back.

All was chaos around Kagomebut to her time stood still. She saw the eyes go wide, the muscles tense, and the blood that leaked profusely out of the opening. She couldn't help but stare as the Carthrid let out a small, surprised, "ah-ah-ahhh." And fell to the ground… dead.

As Kagomestared dumbly at the life she had just taken, seven pairs of red eyes shifted to the now vulnerable young woman.

Feeling the weight of their hungry stare she felt the adrenaline that possessed her to do what she did fade away. It only hesitated a moment before spinning around and running as hard as she could into the forest, foolishly dropping the knife in her terror.

The faded bruises around her neck seemed to flare in pain once more, bringing horrifying nostalgia to her head. She didn't stop when several Carthrids took pursuit, nor did she stop when Káede yelled for her to do so. She couldn't. Fear raced through her veins proving to be just as terminal and irremovable as cancer. She was suffocating just like before.

The wind howled in her ears as Kagomeran through the forest, the branches of the trees cutting at her cheeks. She was quickly running out of breath. She looked back and gasped in horror. There were more of them; their insane red eyes held crazed determination and she could tell by the way they slowed down every time they got close that they were toying with her. It was like a game to them, the object was to catch and kill the fool… Today she was that fool.

She couldn't believe what she had done, and yet couldn't find reason to blame herself. She couldn't have let them kill Max. Even now that her life was in danger, she didn't regret what she did. Nevertheless, the action terrified her. Not once had she ever felt the urge to take another's life. She had felt anger, sadness, but never felt compelled to indulge in the unforgivable sin of murder.

Her much needed breath left her as her foot hit an extended tree root and she fell to the ground. The Carthrids saw her fall and sped up, eager for the sweet taste of her flesh. Kagometried to get up but a clawed hand pushed her back down. She closed her eyes and waited for the final blow to take her.

Instead of the deathly pain of being stabbed by sharp claws, she heard a loud bird-like shriek along with the rustle of feathers and a rather surprised yelp.

She opened her eyes to see a huge eagle beating her wings and raking its sharp talons over the Carthrids face. The Carthrid shrieked as the Kagomestared as the beautiful bird fought fiercely to defend her, captivated by the beauty and her amazing amount of luck.

Another Carthrid ran past its struggling companion, and this time a voice… _that_ voice… appeared in her head, begging — no, demanding — to do the one thing she should have done a long time ago: _Scream._

She screamed.

It was the first time that Kagome was ever thankful for the appearance of the voice and the results justified her gratitude. The minute she shrieked the Carthrids fell to their knees. Their crimson eyes squeezed shut, clawed hands pressed their ears to their ugly heads and they screamed back at her in unexplainable agony.

Kagomesaw what might be her only chance to survive and continued to scream as she slowly got to her feet to take off running once more. Hopefully by then, Sango, Max and Káede would catch up and she'd be alright.

The one who was struggling with the eagle screamed louder than any when the eagle's talons dug into his crimson eyes. It looked as if his eyes were simply melting away rather than actually bleeding. It was one of those sights that you would never forget, and not in the good way.

She was about to turn around to start running again when the female looked up at her and saw something in her eyes that made her pause… something that made her stop screaming.

This proved to be a mistake seeing as the Carthrids immediately recovered. The female's eyes became enraged once more and it tensed its legs, ready to leap up and charge.

But the Carthrid never even got the chance to take one step towards her. The last thing it ever saw was Max's razor sharp teeth.

It was amazing. Blood stained the gray fur around his right eye making him look even more ferocious as he turned his attention on the now blind Carthrid. The eagle that had attacked it was now nowhere to be seen and Max put the Carthrid out of his misery.

Her relief never even had a chance to grace her features when a clawed hand grabbed her from behind. She instinctively screamed again and the hand immediately let go. She spun around, ready to punch, kick, scratch, bite or anything else she had to do to live. If Max was going to fight for her to the death, then she'd make sure it wasn't in vain.

She was quite speechless, however when she was not greeted by the sight of a blood thirsty Carthrid, but molten silver and the sound of a deep, yet stimulating voice.

"I guess it's true when people say the prettier the girl, the louder they scream."

Kagomestood their transfixed with the sight before her. Muscles peeked out of an open, sapphire robe, and the night itself glowed in the onyx locks dangling past his shoulders like fine silk. Orbs of platinum stared with amusement masking rather plain concern. A hint of sharp fangs sliding past his smirking lips and claws betrayed his heritage. She knew without even having to ask that this was another Canan.

_Oh my God._

The nameless Canan snorted and grabbed her arm. He gave a gentle tug, forcing her behind him, shielding her protectively. The Carthrids were beginning to recover. Five of them stood, the other three having suffered the fate of death by Max's jaws. The wolf snarled at the five red-eyed beasts, crouching in an aggressive position, standing his ground defiantly.

"Do you know that wolf?" the Canan whispered.

Kagome nodded. "Yes."

"Then call him off the attack and get him over here so he can protect you. I'll handle this."

A simple whistle was all it took to draw the wolf's attention away from the Carthrids. With a final growl, Max slinked away and stood by Kagome, still baring his teeth at the cold-blooded killers.

The Canan stepped forward.

One of the Carthrids snarled at him. "Give us the girl, revolting Luprid!" it hissed.

_Luprid?_ she thought. _I don't think I've heard that one before._

The Canan merely chuckled at the insult. "Revolting? Isn't that a bit out of your vocabulary, dumb ass?"

Red eyes narrowed. "That's it, Luprid, laugh while you still can. You can't laugh when you're dead."

"That a challenge, bastard?"

The Carthrid didn't even get a chance to respond. He moved so fast that by the time Kagomeregistered the movement, he had already sprinted ten yards, sliced a grey-tinged neck with his claws and moved on to his next victim. The Carthrid gurgled before falling in a heap on the forest floor.

The Canan found himself surrounded, but the red-eyed madmen weren't smart enough to take advantage of it. Before they could take the skilled fighter down, he had thrown a vicious uppercut to one of them and leapt over the briefly dazed Carthrid. In their eagerness for blood, the foolish beasts trampled their companion, accidentally stabbing him in several places with their three-inch claws. The man braced himself against a tree and used the Carthrid's forward momentum against them. Before they could stop themselves, two faces were slashed to ribbons and the Canan had already moved to the side to avoid the blow of the final Carthrid. He struck quickly, wrapping his hands around the beast's neck from behind, twisting sharply to the side. Kagomewinced at the bone chilling _snap_ that filled her ears as the Carthrid's head hung limply to the side.

The Canan growled in disgust and dropped the Carthrid to the ground. His silver eyes turned to her and she once again found herself unable to speak. He walked towards her, trying not to touch his sapphire robe — or anywhere else — with his bloody hands. "You okay?" he asked gruffly.

Kagome nodded. "I —" she stopped to lick her dry lips. "Yes, thank you."

He nodded.

Kagomelooked at him, unable to do anything else she spoke: "I… I'm Kagome," she said, wincing. She sounded like some giddy teenager with a crush!

The man looked a bit surprised but responded, "InuYasha," before looking at his hands. "I'd shake your hand, but they're covered in blood."

Max decided that not enough attention was being paid to him and nudged InuYasha' hip with his nose, but he got no reaction other than a brief look of acknowledgement.

"Look," he said, hesitant to pet the wolf with his blood soaked hands. "You should know better than to wander out here alone. There are bandits and Carthrids all over the place. You shouldn't be out here, especially in those." He pointed to her attire and Kagome blushed. For some reason she was unable to give him the same treatment she gave Sesshoumaru.

Before she could give a nervous response, however, InuYasha was lifting his head in the air, sniffing scent she couldn't smell. "That's… that's impossible," he muttered. "How the hell —?"

This InuYasha looked not angry, not frightened but perplexed. He obviously smelled something that should not have been there, something that didn't belong in the forest.

Kagomewondered what it was but a voice cut her contemplation short.

"Kagome? Who's with you? Is it Sesshoumaru?" It was Káede. "You shouldn't have run off like that, child. You could have been…"

The old woman finally came into view and for the first time she looked speechless as she stared at InuYasha, both held twin expressions of disbelief.

Kagome recognized the expression. It was the same one that her mother had held when she had walked into her kitchen and laid eyes upon Káede. It was a look that said these two knew each other.

Her theory was proved correct when Káede's look of astonishment changed into a radiant smile. The old woman raised a gnarled finger at the Canan, who still wore a look of complete shock, and laughed.

"I _knew_ it! I knew you were still alive!"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_Okay, I'm finally done with this chapter I'm sorry for the long wait — which I tried to make up for with the length — and the change of heart about the chapter name. The __**next**__ chapter will be called "The Lost Warrior"_

_The big meeting finally happens and I tried to portray a state of mind where Kagome is attracted to him the minute she sees him. And I think I made the small action scene like it was supposed to be. Did I get it right?_

_As for the rivalry concerning InuYasha and Sesshoumaru, well that comes into play in the next chapter._

_And I apologize if it's a bit rough, if you think otherwise please let me know, I'm sometimes a bit over obsessed. Lol _

_Please help me ease my crazed mind, does it really flow? Or is it choppy and awkward to read?_

-

**Acknowledgements**

_chanda...kokoronagomu...Liesie...Stinkypinker...Haksi...inu-babe...ladydeath31178...pokiepal...ThisIsMeSmiling...Darago...Cowgirl 101_

_CHECK OUT MY LIVE JOURNAL FOR MORE INFO AND REPLIES FOR YOUR REVIEWS!_

_eyesof-eden./_

(fanfiction is being a dick and won't let me put the full url. After "/" insert in "live journal. com" without any spaces and you should be fine.)

-

_**NEXT CHAPTER: The Lost Warrior**_

_(To all who are missing Inuyasha's testosterone I have one thing to say to you… "Keh!") _

-

_**-Eyes of Eden-**_


	8. The Lost Warrior

_**Chapter Six**_

**THE LOST WARRIOR**

**Warning:**

_Language, violence, and gore._

* * *

_**The sun was shining fully now.**_ The blades of bloodstained grass shone like that of a sword under the scorching heat of morning light. It was almost as if the grass itself had slain these red-eyed monsters.

Sesshoumaru looked around the clearing with a look that was somewhere between amusement and contempt. He could tell who had killed who simply by looking at the wounds. The wide, jagged lacerations upon the stomachs were the signature mark of Sango's victims. Sango had always had the tendency to overdo it, making the clean up job rather messy. On the other hand, it was somewhat entertaining to see such bloodthirsty monsters taken down by a mere Human — a woman nonetheless.

_And speaking of reckless fighters…_

It was the last scent he expected to smell on his morning walk. Ten years had gone by and InuYasha' absence had more of an impact on him than he ever thought it would — and more than he was willing to admit.

Sesshoumaru grinned fully this time. It wasn't likely that InuYasha would be happy to see him; quite the opposite really. But he didn't mind, it'd been a while since he'd had a good fight. Granted; he may have to take on Sango as well because of his untimely bath, but not taking one was quite literally committing suicide in his case. InuYasha wasn't one to actually aim to kill an ally, but that didn't mean he couldn't be provoked.

A throaty groan ripped him from his thoughts. The dregs of water that were still stubbornly clinging to his shoulder-length, gray hair misted around his body like an aura as he spun his head quickly towards the source of the sound. His body followed the motion of his head and twin arms crossed to grasp the two Dao swords strapped to either hip.

One of the Carthrids grasped his head and blinked stupidly, it obviously had no idea what was going on. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and released both hands from the twin hilts. A slight frown played upon his majestic features as he walked towards the creature carefully. It wasn't in the nature of a Carthrid to take the time to gather its surroundings. The minute it sensed an unfamiliar or startling presence it was compelled to attack. They were killers, deadly fodder in the lines of battle, trained — or engineered — to feel no pain, fear no fear, and fight until to the death.

He strode gracefully towards the dazed beast, wary of each and every move he made. Carthrids were like wild animals and everyone knew that an injured wild animal is one of the most dangerous things in the world.

"You…" he said quietly.

He got no response.

"You!" he said, louder this time, pleased to see the Carthrid give a startled jump about five feet in the air before turning to face him.

"State your name, filth," Sesshoumaru hissed.

He tried to make his voice as menacing as possible when he spoke and was satisfied with the results. The Carthrid shook in fear, the final traces of red from the sunrise, outlined Sesshoumaru's body, making it look as though he had a blood red aura.

"Lu-Lucious," he stuttered.

This Carthrid knew his own name. This one wasn't yet fully unstable. Now that was something you didn't see every day.

He narrowed his eyes. "Get up, Lucious."

The Carthrid stood on shaky knees. The light of the man he had once been shined beneath his eyes. There was hope for this Carthrid yet, however remote. The Canan drew to his full height, glaring at the smaller Carthrid.

"Do you enjoy your claws, Lucious?"

The Carthrid looked confused at this question and didn't answer. He was still shaking and Sesshoumaru frowned again. Yes, this one hadn't succumbed to whatever darkness that made these creatures, not yet at least.

"I will give you a choice, Lucious," he said as he withdrew a small, curved dagger from his pale robe. "Either you surrender your claws and live, or you surrender your life and die."

He looked at the red-eyed beast with indifferent eyes that promised to make good on his threat, awaiting his answer.

It was a simple proposition, one that was easy to understand and was free of any loopholes. It was a fair, honest deal, one that any sane man would jump at without hesitation, but perhaps that was the point.

Carthrids relied on their claws a lot more than they actually needed to. All Pathric claws were retractable, seeing as they were so long, but either the Carthrids had forgotten how to do it, or they just didn't want to. They killed, ate, slept and drank with their three inch claws out all day and all night. Only a handful of times had Sesshoumaru seen a Carthrid without claws drawn and it was only because they had been cut off. Without the claws, the Carthrids died within a few short weeks from either starvation or murder by their cannibalistic comrades.

He felt the slightest twinge of remorse for this hopeless abomination. If he took this Carthrid's claws, it would surely suffer the same fate. However, in the end, it might make all the difference. This Carthrid, while not sane, still had a bit of who it once was deep inside. He saw the remorse in its eyes for the things it had done, and this gift of partial sanity may be able to make up for its past evils. Without his claws, the chances of it murdering anyone were quite slim and perhaps it could turn its life around in the few remaining weeks that it would have left to live. Perhaps it would then be worthy of escaping the cursed label of 'it' and in the moment of death, receive the title of 'he.'

However, the Carthrid didn't take kindly at all to the proposal. Its eyes grew an even more violent shade of red, revealing its sharp teeth and curling the split and chapped lips into a ferocious snarl as it growled rancorously. The insanity and instability he was sure he had shown earlier when they had attacked the camp had resurfaced and Sesshoumaru merely raised an eyebrow as deadly three inch claws flexed before his eyes.

"Too bad," he muttered.

Before the Carthrid could make a move, Sesshoumaru grabbed its wrist and twisted it to the side ruthlessly. A spine-chilling crack filled his ears and the Carthrid opened his mouth to scream. But what came out was not the sound of unbearable pain but the scarlet proof of lethal injury. Red eyes glimpsed down to find the sharp dagger that would have taken his claws buried deep inside his stomach.

The Carthrid dropped to the forest floor to join his companions and Sesshoumaru couldn't help but feel regret at what had to be done as he wrenched the dagger out of its stomach.

This, he thought, was what the world had become, just an endless bloodbath that always resulted in death. He knew what was at stake, he knew that this killing was justified but that didn't mean it did not disappoint him when this happened.

So many people had tried to change these Carthrids, tried to find hope for the pitiful souls that knew nothing but to kill anything that breathed. None were ever successful and it wasn't long before people stopped trying. Most had given up the fight altogether and chose to live in the more remote areas of the world, away from the violence and bloodshed.

Sesshoumaru personally thought of these people as fools. They wouldn't be able to hide in the mountains and forests forever. Eventually, they would be found by the Pathric Alliance, and when they were there would be little chance of their surviving.

Some even outright betrayed the Canad Union and gave their complete loyalty to the Alliance. Each time another legion joined the ranks of the Pathrans, the number of Carthrids seemed to increase drastically. Coincidence? Sesshoumaru thought not.

The more Carthrids there were, the more misery they caused. The more misery that was caused the more betrayals there were and the more betrayal there was, the more Carthrids there were. It was just an endless cycle of suffering, like the four legs of a rogue horse, pushing a powerful creature no one could stop. If only one were able to immobilize one of the legs. Perhaps then, this beast could be stopped and the war could be won and peace could be restored.

But time, Sesshoumaru knew, was quickly running out. He knew that if people had stopped trying, it would only be a matter of time before they stopped caring.

* * *

**e(o)e**

* * *

Seeing the eagle fiercely defending the girl beside him, that was weird. Witnessing a pack of Carthrids being brought to their knees by a mere scream, that was unheard of.

But this… this was bordering lunacy. Never, in his life had he expected this. To see her… exactly like he remembered… like no time had passed…. it was too much, too good to be true… and yet too horrible to be true at the same time.

InuYasha took a wary step backwards. His silver eyes reflected complete disbelief and shock as they stared at the old woman he had once considered the equivalent of an Aunt. "You…" he whispered, "you're not real."

Kaéde frowned before drawing back a long, black sleeve and stepping forward to make up the distance InuYasha had put between them. She outstretched her hand with a fairly solemn visage. "Take my hand InuYasha," she said gently. "Touch me, know that I am real."

InuYasha shook his head. "No."

And then another voice was heard. The sound of it made his heart stop even more so than with Kaéde — whom he still did not believe was real.

"Kaéde, did you find her? I am going to _kill_ Sesshoumaru when I see him. Is Kagome alright —?"

Long brown hair swished out of the thicket and even though Sango had finished speaking, it was as though she had been cut off as she too, stared at the Canan.

The silence was even thicker than before. The silent whisper of the wind lifted the hair of all four occupants, no one knowing quite what to say. Max simply looked at each person in turn, not knowing why they were all simply staring at each other.

InuYasha' face was now impassive, but his eyes screamed of immense overload of emotions. He now knew for a fact that this was a dream. What were the odds of them both finding them here? Hell, what were the odds that they were still alive? He knew the answer perfectly and he repeated it over and over in his head like a sacred mantra.

_Impossible!_

The old woman stepped closer. "You've been greatly missed at home, InuYasha," she said in the same gentle tone as before. "Even now, after all these years have passed people still grieve over your loss. Some" — she gestured towards the immobile Sango — "more than others."

InuYasha said nothing, only stared. His fists were clenched and his chest heaved with ragged breaths. How was it that he could kill anything with just a flick of his claws, how could he not flinch in the face of death itself but the mere sight of the reminders of his past life was enough to bring him to his knees? Fleetingly, he wondered how he was still standing.

"Some have cursed and damned you," Kaéde continued, "but most have honored your memory like they would a hero."

He knew this was a dream, knew that it couldn't be real but he couldn't help himself. He had to ask.

"My family?" he croaked. "My father? Evelynn? Are they —?"

Kaéde nodded. "Your father and sister are living safely within the walls of Exitrius, just as you left them. Your mother…" The old woman trailed off.

InuYasha shook his head. "No… that's… impossible. I saw the city… it was burning."

His voice was getting louder. The emotions were starting to take hold and his body shook with violent passion threatening to blow with every sound uttered. "I saw it lying in ruins!" he screamed. "I could smell the scent of death, it was everywhere! I heard their screams; I can still hear them when I sleep, every single Goddamn night!"

Kaéde stood in her usual calm stance, listening to him scream his remorse to her, taking his anger and absorbing it. Her posture gave her more height than she really had. The walking stick wasn't leaned upon like a support, but was a symbol of power and wisdom. He felt unjustified rage welling up inside of him at the sight of such a posture, one that he remembered so well. His anger got him nowhere as she stood there and listened calmly; taking the violent tirade and returning it with only peace. How could he keep yelling if she did nothing to react to him?

His mind was running out of explanations and it angered InuYasha even more. If this was real… if this wasn't a dream… then he had abandoned them in an even worse way than he thought he had already done.

"Yes," said Kaéde coolly, "the city was burning on that tragic night and it _did_ sustain heavy damages. But the funny thing about fire, InuYasha, is that it _can_ be put out. Even more curious still, buildings can be repaired rather easily. The city has been fully restored and is exactly the same as you remember."

But InuYasha wasn't shaken from his resolution of denial, he couldn't accept it, he had walked away far too long ago to try and get it back.

"I saw the bodies lying in the roads, I smelled death in the air, they overran the city and I know that… I _know_ that, dammit! How could you —?"

But he didn't have a chance to finish. His speech was cutoff quite abruptly by a fist planted hard against his jaw. He fell to the ground in his surprise and felt body on top of him as his jaw throbbed in pain.

"How could _we_?" Sango hissed before aiming another punch at his face, ignoring Kagome's gasp and Kaéde's protests. "How could _you_?"

InuYasha could do nothing but stare at her. Each punch that landed on him was just another blow to his already guilty conscious. He deserved it after all, didn't he?

The girl that he had saved was pleading for Sango to stop. "He saved my life, Sango! Please stop it!" Kaéde was trying to pull Sango off of him as she scorned, "Now really!" But Sango threw the old woman off and continued her beating.

"How could you leave us when we needed you the most? You were like a brother to me!" She was crying now. The tears slid off of her face as she sunk her fist into his stomach, pain and hurt evident in her eyes as she choked back the sobs. "Do you have any idea how much I cried? Do you know what it's like to lose two brothers at once? DO YOU?!"

At this, InuYasha knew he could have argued, but he didn't. She had stayed and endured the pain, whereas he had run away. Even though it was too painful to admit, he knew that she was right. Her question echoed in his head again and again in tempo with each battering blow to his body.

How could he?

And suddenly the blows stopped. InuYasha tried to sit up but was stopped by an almost violent embrace from Sango. He felt the tears from her eyes hit the crook of his neck and he found that the blows of salty water against his skin hurt far worse than any blow from her fist.

"Why?" she sobbed. "I thought you were dead; why did you leave?"

InuYasha squeezed her shoulder gently and Sango's gaze rose to meet his. It was then, that he knew this was not a dream. As hard and traumatic as it was to accept, he owed it to her and Kaéde to acknowledge their presence as real. He owed them that at the very least.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's just…"

He closed his eyes and thought of a way to say why he had done what he had done. But there was no excuse, no easy way out and so he sighed heavily. Everything was moving too fast and he wasn't even sure if his mind truly comprehended what was happening. If it truly had, then he was sure that he would be close to tears himself. He opened his eyes to look at the tear-stained face of one of his dearest friends.

"I deserved every blow you dealt me," he said quietly.

And with that, he gently pushed her off of him and stood up. He looked from Kaéde, to Sango, and back, taking a deep breath.

_Their alive._

Reality then, dealt its crippling blow and it nearly brought him back down to the forest floor. This… this was real. Sango, Kaéde… they were alive and according to them, so was his father and sister. How many other people had he abandoned? How many people had survived the attack? How many had died?

But the seemingly endless questions in his mind were cut short by that girl's — the one he had saved — voice.

"Excuse me?" she said shakily. "I'm… I'm sorry to interrupt but what… what's going on?"

InuYasha stared at her. What was her name again? Kagome, wasn't it? He was sure it was. He noticed, for the first time, that her scent carried a slight undertone of pollution and chemicals he could not identify. This, Kagome, was apparently from Pangaea, the modernist part of the world. With another sniff, he realized that that part of her scent was fading, the pollution and chemicals were being purified by the clean air of this world. Just how long had she been here?

"InuYasha," said Kaéde, "is an old friend that we have dearly missed for a little over three years."

The old woman stepped closer to him, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. "I must say," she said, craning her neck so as to look him in the eye, "despite you living as an outlaw, you haven't changed much."

InuYasha crossed his arms defiantly. "Keeping health is easy when you've got nearby villages to trade with. I give 'em food, they give me cleaning supplies."

"I'm sure it is," said the old woman. "Now let us depart and make for this village, you speak of, before more Carthrids show up. I'm sure some of us are rather anxious to escape the hardships of outdoor camping."

The old woman gestured to Kagome, who nodded vigorously. Sango wiped a few stray tears from her eyes and shook her head with consent as well and soon the three were on their way towards the campsite.

It was an awkward trek through the woods, what does one say to people you haven't seen in ten years, only to happen upon them in the forest? So far, no one quite had the guts to provide the answer.

As they drew nearer to the campsite, InuYasha caught the scent of another former accomplice. This one, however, pissed him off more than it surprised him.

An audible growl echoed within the confinements of his chest. "You didn't tell me that _he_ was here," he said irately to the old woman.

"You didn't ask," she replied.

And then, InuYasha caught the smell of fresh cleansing herbs intertwined with his scent. The growl erupted louder and his fists clenched as he stole a quick glance at Kagome, remembering how she had nearly died. He came to a sudden realization.

_You have GOT to be kidding me._

He rushed into the clearing, trying to ignore the sickening smell of blood, with his claws ready for a fight. He quickly spotted him, lifting a carcass and throwing it towards the small pile he had created.

"Fine time to take a bath, dipshit!" he yelled.

Sesshoumaru didn't show any surprise or even special attention towards his childhood rival. He merely picking up the next body and threw it onto the growing pile of corpses. "Hello to you too, InuYasha," he said dryly.

Kaéde stepped forward, looking around the clearing quickly. "I see that you killed the unconscious one, Sesshoumaru," she said, obviously trying to divert the conversation.

Sesshoumaru nodded but InuYasha was having none of it. He pushed past the old woman and drew close to the regal Canan, standing almost nose to nose.

"Forget that," he snapped, his silver eyes reflected not anger but rather extreme annoyance. He jabbed a clawed finger roughly against his chest, punctuating every word with a persuasive poke. "I want to know what hell you were doing taking a bath!"

He was a bit shorter than Sesshoumaru, but much more muscular and so he tensed his body, trying to make up for his height disadvantage by playing up his robustness. Sesshoumaru didn't seem to be intimidated by his showcase of strength.

"I suspected that three years as an outcast would render you uninformed, not unintelligent, InuYasha. Have the forests of the world rendered you so dense that you forget what a bath is for?" He sniffed the air only to wrinkle it in disgust. "Judging by your scent I would say exactly that."

InuYasha glared. "Stop trying to change the subject you narcissistic bastard! Just because you —"

He was cut-off by a sharp blow to the head via Kaéde's walking stick. He was about to complain until the old woman turned and wiped a rather smug look off of Sesshoumaru's face with the same treatment.

"Cease this nonsense!" she snapped. "As you two bicker amongst yourselves like children, a whole legion of Carthrids could be on their way to kill us all!"

"Oh, man," came Sango's voice. "It was just starting to get interesting too!"

InuYasha turned around to look at his old friend and was relieved to find that she wasn't crying anymore. The playful grin that he remembered so well played at the corner of her lips and he couldn't help but grin himself, the annoyance he felt towards Sesshoumaru dissipating. Things were going to be okay between them, he sensed.

His peripheral vision caught sight of that girl, Kagome. He frowned, not from anger or disappointment but from confusion.

This girl had something strange about her. Her scent told him that she was from the modernist world, and yet he sensed something great within her. It wasn't her scent, or the way she stood, or even the fact that she was strikingly beautiful — he tried to ignore that thought — that made him think this. It was just a gut feeling he had, an instinctual sway of attention that screamed to him that this was no ordinary modernist, no ordinary Human.

Kaéde walked over to the horses that looked a bit shaken by the sequence of events so far. She started to untie them. "We must seek refuge, in the nearby village that InuYasha spoke of." She turned to InuYasha. "You _will_ lead us there, will you not?"

InuYasha hurriedly snapped his attention away from the girls. He snorted.

"Course I will," he said. He jabbed a thumb at his rival, who was still slightly startled by Kaéde's assault to the back of his head. "I just don't want this pompous ass over here to get cold feet if we run into any trouble, God forbid he gets dirty."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his green eyes, but otherwise ignored his taunt.

The horses were easily untied save for when the wolf got bored and decided to take a playful snip at one of their hooves. When everyone was on their horses except for InuYasha, he shook his head.

"No," he said forcefully. "No way, I am _not_ riding with him!" he gestured towards Sesshoumaru who stared indifferently back at him.

"The feeling is mutual."

Kaéde groaned. "Fine, I don't have time for this! Sango, you ride with Sesshoumaru. InuYasha, you go with Kagome." The old woman trotted off into the woods, apparently tired of all the bickering.

The seating changed and InuYasha looked down at the only person left on the ground. He reached out a hand. "Well?" he said expectantly.

Kagome seemingly snapped out of thought and looked at the outstretched hand in front of her blankly.

"It's just a hand," said InuYasha. "It ain't gonna bite ya."

For the first time, she looked at him without being flustered. "I _know_ that, idiot. Can't you give a girl time to think after she almost died for the second time?"

InuYasha slightly recoiled and was taken aback. Until now, he had thought that she was the kind of girl who went a bit loopy after seeing violence or almost dying but this certainly made him reconsider. She was a lot tougher than he had previously thought.

Kagome grasped his hand and straddled the horse with a bit of difficulty. It was obvious that she didn't have much experience with horses. His eyes suddenly widened when his nose took in the smell of her hair. Being situated directly in front of him, his nose nearly touched the sweet smelling tresses. There was a hint of sweat and grime within but it wasn't enough to deter him away from the enticing fragrance of the thick, brown locks.

Her head turned to look at him and he found himself swimming in what seemed to be the ocean itself. "Hey, are we going or not?" she said, "Sango and Sesshoumaru already left."

InuYasha widened his eyes and peered around the clearing. Sure enough, the only living thing left was that wolf that seemed to follow this girl everywhere.

He tried to play off his lack of attention with a grunt of denial and rapped the reins against the back of the horse, urging it to move. They set off after Kaéde, Sesshoumaru and Sango, the wolf trailing beside them as they worked their way through the dense wood.

InuYasha cast a wary eyeover the over the wolf that trotted along beside them. "This thing sure does like you," he said.

She only nodded.

He shrugged indifferently. "Whatever," he said, "as long as he doesn't cause trouble."

This time, the young girl laughed out loud. "That probably depends on what you would consider trouble," she said.

InuYasha nodded, only half-acknowledging what she said, the other half of him was listening to her laugh… She had a nice laugh.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_Again, I managed to screw up by being such a damn procrastinator. But this time I swear that damn writers block came back with a veangence._

_So here we are, InuYasha and Kagome hit it off and as for Sesshoumaru… well not so much. Lol._

_I must say I was surprised with how many people emailed and commented me, BEGGING to not let anything happen to Max. Hmmmm. I might consider your offer if I think the amount of reviews is mandatory. _

_LOL… I'm just kidding. Max is gonna be fine… for now. _

_And if your wondering what DAO swords are, they look like this…_ _www.home.no/kennito/swordforum/niuwei02.jpg_

_Next chapter, Naraku and Rin make their entry._

_**NEXT CHAPTER: Embracing the Unembraceable**_

_When all that was left but the broken…_

**Acknowledgements**

_chanda...kokoronagomu...Liesie...Stinkypinker...Haksi...inu-babe...ladydeath31178...pokiepal...ThisIsMeSmiling...Darago...Cowgirl101...etherium...cyberlily...raiseyoureyes...aniunfiltered_

_CHECK OUT MY LIVEJOURNAL FOR MORE INFO AND REPLIES FOR YOUR REVIEWS!_

_eyesof-eden./_

_**Eyes of Eden**_


End file.
